A ZR1 was never part of the original C6 plan, but, at an early program review, the Z06′s proposed aluminum frame, carbon-fiber parts, and LS7 engine so impressed CEO Rick Wagoner he casually mentioned aloud, “Geez, if that’s what you can do with $60,000, I wonder what a $100,000 Corvette would look like?” With no more formal authorization than that, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter and his team launched a skunkworks effort dubbed “Blue Devil” — a nod to the boss’s Duke alma mater.

The power behind this tire-burning, road hazzard is the new LS9, a supercharged and intercooled, 6.2-liter version of the famed small-block V-8 that is assembled by hand at GM’s Performance Build Center in Michigan. The LS9 uses a new, sixth-generation Eaton supercharger that expands the effectiveness of the compressor, helping give the engine terrific low-end torque and high-rpm power. The tremendous power boost of the “blower” allowed the engineers to spec a “smaller” cam than we use on the Z06’s LS7 engine, giving the ZR1 exceptional drivability. You can drive this car to work every day and it doesn’t beat you up, yet you can drive it to a racetrack on the weekend and “school” the competition.

In-car video of Jim Mero’s smokin’ lap of Nürburgring below the jump

Read the rest of this entry »

638 Hp From The Supercharged LS9 V-8

PONTIAC, Mich. – When it was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1’s power was estimated at 100 horsepower for each of its 6.2 liters of displacement. GM Powertrain has completed SAE certification of the ZR1’s supercharged LS9 V-8 and the results exceed the estimate: 638 horsepower (476 kW) and 604 lb.-ft. of torque (819 Nm).

The LS9’s output is nearly 103 horses per liter, or just about 1.7 horses for each of the engine’s 376 cubic inches. It is unquestionably the most powerful automotive production engine ever manufactured by General Motors and enables the Corvette ZR1 to achieve a top speed of more than 200 mph (322 km/h).

READ MORE>>

page 1 page 2

DETROIT – Chevrolet announced the 2008 Corvette 427 Limited Edition Z06, a limited-production model that pays homage to the big-block Stingray models of the mid-1960s. The 427 designation refers to the cubic-inch displacement for the highest-performance engines offered between 1966 and ’69 – and is also the cubic-inch equivalent of the Z06’s 7.0L LS7 small-block V-8.

Read the rest of this entry »

2009 Corvette ZR1 Powered By The Most Powerful Production Engine Ever From GM: The Supercharged LS9 Small-Block V-8

PONTIAC, Mich. – When it arrives next summer, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will be the most powerful and fastest production car ever produced by General Motors, with performance enabled by a new, supercharged 6.2L LS9 small-block V-8 engine.

Incorporating the engineering experience already found in the Corvette Z06’a LS7 engine and the new-for-2008 6.2L LS3 of the Corvette, GM Powertain is targeting 100 horsepower per liter for the LS9, or 620 horsepower (462 kW), and approximately 595 lb.-ft. of torque (807 Nm); final SAE-certified power levels will be available in early March 2008.

It is, indeed, the ultimate small-block engine for the ultimate Corvette. Read the rest of this entry »