It's engine time. Just as Ford were announcing their Cammer crated engine,
General Motors were also launching an automotive version of their high-output
Vortec HP3 8100 V-8 marine engine. The engine will be available in late 2003.
"We expect that the Vortec HP3 8100 engine will be selected by a
niche group of performance-minded customizers who want high torque and power
without compromising durability," said Rick Dunagan, GM Powertrain
director of OEM sales and marketing.
The engine started life in trucks before being adapted for marine use. Now
further enhancement will make it suitable for high performance car applications.
That's for cars that want an 8.1 litre V8. The marine version delivers 525bhp
and more than 560 lb-ft of torque! Figures for the crated version will be
released next year.
"We've incorporated all the strengths of the Vortec 8100 truck engine
into the Vortec HP3 crate engine, including the emissions and fuel economy
improvements we've made over the years," said Terry Andrzejewski, GM
Powertrain Vortec HP3 development engineer. "Then we went back and
pushed those strengths to an even greater level. The HP3's impressive
performance comes from a naturally aspirated design based on a stock truck
engine block."