GM Inside News Forum banner

LEAKED! Gen-V LT4... Corvette Z06's new mill??

31K views 73 replies 37 participants last post by  surgeont 
#1 ·
LEAKED! Gen-V LT4... Corvette Z06's new mill??
GM High Tech Performance (FACEBOOK)
December 6, 2013

A short while ago, GM High Tech Performance Magazine posted a picture on their Facebook feed with the simple caption, "A little birdie dropped this in our lap - the new LT4!?"

By all indications, this new mill is capped by a blower similar to that on the previous Corvette ZR1's LS9 engine. Perhaps an indication of what's to come in Detroit next month? Only time will tell...

Image at link.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Canuck
#3 · (Edited)
Yeah I saw that post awhile ago. I dismissed it as FB Internet lore. It would be awesome if it proves to be true. Regardless I'm sure I can speak for all of us "fanboys" that we would love to have whatever engine/car it may reside in.
 
#4 ·
BTW I'll be the first non troll to say " screw GM!!! They should but this engine in everything from the Spark to the new Colorado!!!"

LOL

You know it's coming in some form
 
#28 ·
Screw GM? Screw you! I WANT THIS IN THE ENCORE!

But seriously, I wait for the day this graces the CTS-V.

I was thinking the same thing...If they make a ZR1 I would like the Z06/Z07 and ZR1 to have more of a difference than just a higher HP rating on the same engine...That is why I am kind of hoping the Z06/Z07 has an improved version of the 7.0 V8 ( say maybe 550-560 HP).

Stingray 460 HP

Z06/Z07 560 HP

ZR1 660 HP


I'm down with that.
It's such a low volume and limited-application engine, I don't understand why GM wouldn't just refine it and keep it around a bit longer.

If I was Mr. GM, I'd be asking "what is Porsche doing" before I did anything with Corvette.

Z06 should mimic the 911 GT cars - n/a with a bit more power and a much more focused approach as a rock star at the track.

Let the ZR1 mimic the 911 turbo with f/i and a very long standard features list.
Agreed, mostly.

I'd go even further and hit the Cayman with one new model, the 911 with the Stingray, and another new Corvette to top out the lineup and take on the 918 or whatever their new conventionally-powered car is.

For the Cayman, do something like team up with Alfa/Mazda. There's someone in the world that wants to build a car that'd fit the bill like that.

With Porsche coming out with more family cars than sports cars, there's room for Corvette to move up.

I wouldn't be surprised if the ZR1 skips the C7 generation. A 640 hp Corvette is lunacy. The ZR1 (while awesome) is a better daily driving supercar, but I wouldn't be driving it everywhere like I would an Impala.
1) why is it lunacy
2) why is the Impala relevant


Sticking by what I already said, I'd open up the bore on the LT1, keep the stroke, raise the rev-limiter, revise cam/ignition/fuel to match, concoct a bottom end and valvetrain that'll survive at 8,000, and build a suspension to extract every ounce of stick from the C7's chassis - BOOM - a new Z06 model tailor-made to put the smack down on the GT3.

If they want to get really crazy, go 5th-Gen Camaro Z/28 on that Z06 (gut the interior, ditch the AC, etc.), include the almost-requisite roll cage, and you've got a competitor for the GT3 RS.

Porsche guys are willing to pay big money for the up-optioned 911s. The C6 lineup proved there are a lot of Corvette fans with similar tastes.
I'm a big fan of turning Corvette into a brand like Porsche, if you couldn't tell.

Ditch the composite body panels. Refine production. Add bespoke programs. Add heavy amounts of individual options. Have "recommended builds" for the purists.

Move Corvette upmarket. Do it at 75% the price of a Porsche. Deliver 125% of the car.

Refine the EXPERIENCE of Corvette.

I had not heard about a short model run on the C7...Do you have a link for that?
Check our own GMI product guide.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I was thinking the same thing...If they make a ZR1 I would like the Z06/Z07 and ZR1 to have more of a difference than just a higher HP rating on the same engine...That is why I am kind of hoping the Z06/Z07 has an improved version of the 7.0 V8 ( say maybe 550-560 HP).

Stingray 460 HP

Z06/Z07 560 HP

ZR1 660 HP


I'm down with that.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I 100% concur. I'm still hung up on an interview with Tadge last year when he said the LT1 could handle more displacement.

I'm just concerned that the extra 100 lbs of blower and cooling plumbing sitting over the nose will not be countered by some added weight savings to keep the balance good.

I like the blower - flat like my pop's Edelbrock on his C6, and man is that thing a rocket...
 
  • Like
Reactions: eb110americana
#9 ·
Hate to say it, but I don't really see a 7.0 liter engine (or other larger displacement) coming back for this generation of small-blocks... And I don't see second N/A engine option coming for the Corvette either.

This LT4's 4-lobe technology is proven through the last gen LS9, so GM is comfortable with releasing this as the first hi-po C7. A year and a half, maybe 2 years from now, they will have learned quite a few lessons form the Vsport's TT setup, which they will then be more confident incorporating into the small-block family. At that time they will reveal a twin-turbo Corvette (same 6.2 liter displacement) with a name never seen before.....
 
#13 ·
For some reason strange reason I have a feeling that the c8 and c7 coexist. I think that may be the reason why they rebranded this vehicle more so with the name Stingray instead of just Corvette this time. Speculation of course. But like Sfbreh mentioned yesterday, there is also the XLR return to consider
 
  • Like
Reactions: sfbreh
#15 ·
I wish they picked a different name. If it is going into the Z06 they should have went with LT6 and for the ZR1 they should have used LT9. I don't like that they are just using the numbers in the same order as with the Gen II engines. Plus the original LT4 was never a supercharged V8.
 
#20 ·
I wonder if the new active differential allows them to get more power to the ground. If not, much more than ZL1 levels of power is just going to go up in tire smoke below 100 mph. At crazy power levels, you really need AWD (mechanical or using electric motors on the front) to make it show up in low speed acceleration.

Along that line, imagine the LT4, paired with a couple of electric motors up front and a supercapacitor as a Corvette competitor to the LA Ferrari etc. GM certainly has the technical capacity to do this.
 
#57 ·
DOHC heads won't fit under the C7 hood. So pretty low if it ends up in the C7.

I have no clue why people are still referring to "Z07", when GM announced LAST week that the new Z06 will début at NAIAS.

The LS9 is cheaper than the LS7.
Not based on crate engine costs. The LS9 also has Ti Con-rods and intake valves, but also has forged pistons, piston oil squirters, and the S/C setup. The crate engine goes for ~20K while the LS7 crate engine is slightly under 15k.

Of course the LT1 can be stroked. I've rallied for a 6.8L, CNC ported, and Titanium part engine for months. You wouldn't even need larger valves to out flow the LS7 heads. I wouldn't even bother with a larger bore - it keeps the same combustion system, lighter pistons, and the LT1 cylinder case. A $2000 premium on the block is not worth a 15 bhp deficit, imho. 575 bhp all day long, and linear, broad, power delivery.

At the Stingray's level of performance, it will be even harder to justify a rear-mid-engine Corvette.
That would be awesome. I'm also a fan of the big cube N/A power route for Z06.
 
#56 ·
Could this be the type of supercharger this engine will have..or maybe some future even more powerful?? Centrifugal supercharger..
It is a patent from GM published yesterday

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20130319380.pdf

Also this

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20120124994.pdf
What's interesting is the drive mechanism is said to possibly be an electric motor (in addition to some sort of crankshaft driven method). It could, therefore, be driven at various speeds separate from engine RPM. This would mean the boost levels would be more or less independent of compressor geometry and fixed
drive ratios (gears, chain/sprocket, or belt).

Very cool.
 
#46 · (Edited)
Interesting... http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20130319380.pdf Curious on exactly how you'd manage this: "the compressor 32 may be driven by the crankshaft 22 via a drive mechanism 50. The drive mechanism 50 is configured to rotate the compressor 32 and generate appropriate boost pressure according to performance parameters established for the engine 10."

So... the crank's going to spin the vertical shaft... with a "drive mechanism" that has to fit within the V.
 
#52 ·
well if the next Z06/Z07 is going to be the track car as it has been, they should really make it a NA rocket, big block would be nice, but that engine looks very nice
 
#54 · (Edited)
I have no clue why people are still referring to "Z07", when GM announced LAST week that the new Z06 will début at NAIAS.

The LS9 is cheaper than the LS7. It makes sense to me to have a $100,000 GT, and an even more expensive track car. The Z06 should be lightweight, with power being secondary. The 505 bhp Z06 Carbon is faster on the track than the 638 bhp ZR1. A 140 lb supercharger system on the nose, and high up, will hurt the car's balance and handling. I believe an automatic transmission is proper for a GT. It will balance the addition of the supercharger.

Of course the LT1 can be stroked. I've rallied for a 6.8L, CNC ported, and Titanium part engine for months. You wouldn't even need larger valves to out flow the LS7 heads. I wouldn't even bother with a larger bore - it keeps the same combustion system, lighter pistons, and the LT1 cylinder case. A $2000 premium on the block is not worth a 15 bhp deficit, imho. 575 bhp all day long, and linear, broad, power delivery.

At the Stingray's level of performance, it will be even harder to justify a rear-mid-engine Corvette.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top