REPORT: MIDENGINE CORVETTE TO GET GOOD OL’ FASHIONED SMALL-BLOCK V8 POWER The so-called LT2 would add a touch of familiarity to a radically new C8 Corvette
July 10, 2019
GRAHAM KOZAK autoweek.com
With the July 18 reveal of the midengine 2020 Chevrolet Corvette coming up fast, there are still a lot of things we don’t know about the car -- including, crucially, what’s powering it. Would it drop a few cylinders and add turbochargers? Maybe even go hybrid? Videos of the car testing have given us clues, but there’s only so much we can glean from a few seconds of exhaust note.
If we can trust a new report by Muscle Cars and Trucks, Chevy is easing into the whole engine-behind-the-driver thing by sticking with a familiar prime mover: The time-tested small-block V8. An unnamed source says the C8 will supposedly get a mildly reworked variant called the LT2, perhaps packing 480-500 hp, but it will be very similar to the 6.2-liter LT1 engine found in the C7 Stingray and Grand Sport.
Muscle Cars and Trucks' sources also claim that the C8 will lose its manual transmission option -- something we’ve suspected was going to be the case for quite a while -- in favor of a dual-clutch automatic. Can’t win them all.
makes sense - tried and true engine with a new chassis. I think GM's learned its lesson with launching new engines and chassis at the same time - that is asking for a lot of quality issues. Plus the LT will help keep the price down a bit vs. a new and exotic engine. Plus as noted it gives continuity to bridge the front engine C7 to the mid engine C8.
With all the time GM has had to design the mid engine Corvette, my thoughts are GM will introduce a brand new over head-cam engine to go along with it. They are overdue for such an engine.
I like a good pushrod V8 as much as, or more than anyone on this page especially the LS/LT lineup, but I'm just kind of confused with who this whole package is supposed to win over. I don't see this pulling from the exotic crowd that looks down their noses at pushrod V8's and expects high-revving V10's and V12's (which I admit, I love those too). There will be a good amount Vette owners that will jump and buy the newest just because it is the newest, but not sure about the retired, cruise night types, or the average guy who doesn't even know who the Nurburgring is. Not sure if they want a European exotic as much as a car reminiscent of the Corvettes they've been buying for the last 30-40 years? As I've mentioned on here before, all the Corvette owners I know ironically drag race their cars, so this switch won't benefit them.
I'm not in here for an argument because I'm not 100% on board with this change, this is just my biggest curiosity with this platform. We'll see in about 1-2 years after the initial hot "OMG, NEW MODEL" sales have been made.
I can't remember where I read it, maybe on here....but it was stated that the entry level C8 was going to be reasonably priced, basically a mid-engine supercar without the mid-engine super car price. The current gen Stingray starts at $55k approximately. What if the new entry level C8 started at $75-85k? Would people balk at a high horsepower pushrod engine at that price? I imagine that would entice a lot of people and you'd get interest from people who were on the fence. The Euro-snobs probably won't budge, they'd rather spend 2 x the $$$ for less performance.
As I think about it, why would a C8 necessarily be any more expensive than the C7? It isn't like the C7 has a chassis shared with any other GM vehicle to defray its costs. Other than we all equate mid-engine with high dollars because of the high priced Euro's, is there a reason a mid-engine configuration will cost GM substantially more to build than the C7? Of course, GM my choose to charge more, which is a whole different question. I'm interested in if a mid-engine vehicle will cost more to design/build.
for me ANYTHING other than a V8 would be a surprise and the CADDY BLACKWING engine was stated CADDY ONLY so it won't be THAT ONE so we are left with the "truck" derived LT / LU? pushrod "small block"
with tha Camaro taking a rumored dirt nap again and NO ZETA CARS this will be the only NON truck application for the "small block"
That other site is already reporting the Z06 will likely have a blackwing architecture V8. Seriously, to believe caddy is the only division that is going to get a V8 DOHC turbo engine is just not realistic. The Z06 engine will have some of the same DNA as the blackwing, but will not be the same. Although if the report is accurate, I could see some caddy's (CT5V+) wanting the chevy engine rated at 650+HP, eclipsing the 550 in the 4.2TT
The guy needs to quit his damn gesticulating and drive. He looks almost dangerous Edit: And why didn't they try to check those scoops out on the sides while no one was around to see if they were fake or real? :think:
Keep in mind that the Black Wing V8 is a very specific 4.2 liter displacement. As such the architecture can accommodate a larger, and Corvette specific variant which is of course very much expected.
I honestly think there will be more than 1 engine in the C8
One way to keep cost down for the stingray equivalent would be to run the SBC but above that I'd expect GM to run a high reving flat plane crank version of the DOHC V8 with twin turbos and at the very top a hybrid system to get the 900 plus HP Ferrari just announced in their first Hybrid
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