According to TheDetroitBureau.com, General Motors is planning to alter its strategy with the next-generation Corvette to appeal to a wider range of customers. Traditionally, the Corvette has always been offered with high-displacement eight-cylinder powertrains, but according to sources within GM, the C7 Corvette may also offer a small, turbocharged V8.
Just how small, exactly? TDB reports that the next Corvette’s European-style V8 could measure in at just over 3.0 liters, using an overhead-cam setup and dry sump oil system. With the aid of turbocharging, unnamed GM sources expect that this engine will deliver “in excess of 400 horsepower,” or about 125 hp per liter. What’s more, the smaller V8 could be of the extremely high-revving nature, with TDB citing that engine revs could handle up to 10,000 RPM.
GM’s North American president, Mark Reuss, previously told The Bureau that the C7 Corvette will “target a very different sort of buyer.”
However, traditional V8 enthusiasts need not worry, as the story states that a full range of engines will be available, including the classic larger displacement units that have traditionally found a home in the Corvette.
Of course, the rumormill about exactly what’s in store for the C7 Corvette continues to swirl. We’ve heard everything from a mid-engine layout to a split rear window design that pays tribute to the 1963 'Vette. Whatever the case, GM just invested $131 million in the Bowling Green, Kentucky plant that builds the Corvette and the all-new model is expected to arrive within the next two to three years.
reverse engineer nsx -> slap a turbo on -> corvette C7?
(just a joke do realize nsx is a 6cyl)
I’m exited, My favorite car has a 3 liter v8 turbo:
lol thats my favorite automobile aswell… those are perfect
So they copied the 360’s headlights and now the F40’s engine? Solid work GM.
I want to know if the C7 will actually look like the concept. Doubt it.
i don’t think there is a concept out yet. Some nerds were saying that the one created for transformers IS the concept, but that’s simply not true. That one is simply a movie car.
I guess im one of those nerds lol. That car has been referred to as the Corvette Concept, so thats where I was coming from with that. I guess they never call it the C7 concept specifically. So idk lol
oh fml if GM decides to stuff a turbo V8 in a vette that they will definetly make smaller for the next generation.
hands down the best car ever.
i doubt that they will do a 3.0l v8 with turbos. this is america, not europe…thats the way gm prob looks at it too. it will prob have a few smaller motor options like a 302 or something with ohc’s maybe even direct injection, but not a euro style powerplant…but who the hell knows until it comes out lol
The thing is that they have to get the average of every vehicle they sell up to 36 mpg or something like that by 2016. So a small displacement OHV forced induction platform might be the only way to make that happen. Only time will tell, GM has done some funky stuff before like the LT5 for example.
I am a fan
I agree, especially if it looks like the one in the pictures. Nothing like a high revving v8:bowdown
Lt5 was a knock off engine designed by the Brits I believe. Not really American
lol @ 10k rpm
Yes and no. The design was a Lotus, GM colaboration. However the head construction was farmed out to lotus. Not 100% sure if thats exactly how it went, but I’m fairly sure.
LT5 was a Lotus creation. you honestly think GM could have got 405hp from a 5.7L without help from someone else back in the 90s, considering their big power player in the middle decade was the grand sport with a 330hp LT4
overall LT5 impression : amazing engine. just put in a not so amazing Corvette. i think it was too little, too late for the C4. they should have further developed the DOHC platform for the C5 model(LS family is still doing amazing work with pushrods though)
looks like some of the rumors are confirmed according to yahoo autos
Anxious to attract the sort of high-performance buyers increasingly drawn to European sports cars from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini, General Motors is planning some major changes for the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette – starting with a high-revving, small-displacement powertrain, that will substitute for the big V-8s traditionally found under the hood of the Chevy two-seater.
GM has approved the use of a very European-style V-8 that will be only slightly larger than 3 liters in displacement. The engine will be an overhead-cam, rather than traditional overhead-valve design, using a dry sump oil system that’s particularly well suited to high-performance road courses rather than straight-line acceleration. The engine is expected to feature a narrow 80.5 mm bore and a long stroke, more like a Ferrari or Lamborghini powertrain than the approach used for traditional Motor City metal.
A very senior GM executive also confirmed that the new engine will be turbocharged, which will help yield a broad torque curve and maximum performance under a variety of driving conditions. The engine is expected to deliver in excess of 400 horsepower, which means a specific output in the range of 125 horsepower per liter. That’s the sort of number that would help the next-generation Vette stack up well against the likes of a Porsche 911 or Lamborghini Gallardo.
The engine is likely to be extremely high-revving, perhaps climbing to a near-Formula One-class 10,000 RPMs, suggested one source involved in the project.
The revelation tracks in line with a recent comment by General Motors’ North American President Mark Reuss, who recently promised that the so-called C7 Corvette, due to market in less than two years, will be “completely different” from the very American sports cars that have come before it. Since its launch in 1953, Corvette has been governed by the philosophy, “there’s no replacement for displacement.”
While Reuss and other senior executives have declined to discuss plans for the next Corvette publicly, several well-placed sources have given TheDetroitBureau.com a good sense of what’s to come. The small V-8 underscores what one of those insiders says is the desire to “target a very different sort of buyer for the next Corvette. Let’s face it, the current customer is getting old.” But without making significant changes, that source acknowledged, younger sports car fans will continue to be “conquested” by more modern, high-tech imports.
Significantly, Corvette won’t abandon its more classic powertrain roots entirely. There will be several different types of engines offered for the C7, including a more classic, big-block OHV V-8 designed to appeal to traditionalists.
In fact, some of the design cues of the new car will be borrowed from early generations. There have even been rumors of the C7 going with the split window of the very collectible 1963 Corvette, though TheDetroitBureau.com has not been able to confirm that that particular detail has been given the go.
Meanwhile, expect the interior to be much more modern than the current car’s, which GM’s global design chief Ed Welburn admits “is a disappointment.” The styling boss, a long-time Corvette fan himself, says he is personally overseeing the development of the C7 interior and promises it will be “absolutely world-class.”
Adopting a mid-engine layout, rather than the long-running front-engine design, is considered a strong possibility, though it would be a significant engineering shift for GM. Nonetheless, sources say that wouldn’t be entirely out of line, as the Corvette has often served as the technological test bed for the maker.
GM adopted the then-radical approach of using a fiberglass body when the original 1953 Corvette was launched. The sports car has introduced plenty of other features over the years, including the MagneRide suspension, which uses a magnetically controlled fluid to continuously vary suspension settings to match road conditions and driving behavior.
When migrating from the fifth-generation Corvette to today’s C6 model, GM trimmed weight and brought the sports car’s overall size down to something closer to that of a current Porsche 911. Anticipate further cuts in mass for the upcoming remake of Chevy’s halo car.
GM is investing $131 million in the Bowling Green, Kentucky plant that produces the Corvette to prepare for the C7 launch.
The use of the new small-displacement V-8 is likely to have some knock-on effects at GM, said one source. As with current Corvette powertrain technology, the high-tech engine will find its way into the Cadillac line-up, it appears, where it would help that brand’s V-Series evolve into a more sophisticated offering, rather than the brute-force line-up it is today.
The switch to a smaller, turbocharged V-8 isn’t exclusive to GM, incidentally. Ford made the move with its big F-Series pickup for 2011, offering a downsized EcoBoost twin-turbo V-6 — which delivers the same sort of towing power as the F-150′s biggest V-8, while yielding significant fuel economy improvements.
This is a cool development and a nice step forward for the “old school” line up of GM vehicles, but I’m on the fence as to whether I like it or not. Being a total corvette fag and all, i think GM should stick to the good old front engine, big displacement, gaz guzzling whore, brutally full of torque, wide ass tires, and loud+obnoxiously sexy deep exhaust notes. Thats just what makes the Vette what it is in a way.
However the 3.0 force inducted v8 would probably sound very exotic and very cool with an aggresive exhaust and probably produce a lot of power…
I guess we’ll see!