Info on the next Corvette ZR1

[kevm14]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PclVfsseOP0

This guy claims the new ZR1 will have an LT5 (pretty confirmed leak). What is much more interesting is that the rumors are that it will be DOHC and supercharged. The C4 ZR1 LT5 was DOHC. Pretty big is true.

I hope this isn't the beginning of the end for the SBC. I mean it wasn't when the LT5 came out in 1990. A pushrod LS6 was making the same HP 11 years later in a smaller, cheaper, simpler package. Times are different though.

[kevm14]

I forgot to mention the power rumor: 750 hp.

[bill25]

We live in crazy times. Back in the day, a Z28 or IROC got like 20 HP more than a Camaro RS 305. The V8 Non Sport G bodies had like 20 or 30 HP less than the Sport ones and that was a "huge" difference. Now a ZR1 has 100 HP more than a Z06 and a production 750 HP power plant! The 1991 Z28 had 245HP. The 2002 Camaro SS has 315 HP. The 2010 Camaro SS had 425 HP, now it is up to 450. The ZL1 is now 650HP. That is more than 300 HP greater than the best Camaro of 2002.

[kevm14]

I was on my phone so I didn't go into the detail I wanted. If this is a true LT5, it will be based on the LT1/LT4, rather than some totally new design. The LT5 was based on the LT1/LT4 of the 90s (it was 5.7L).

I interpret GM's sticking to the simplest engine that will make the power and reliability goals as a partial nod to the aftermarket. After all, if you want to tweak any of the DOHC stuff, you pay big bucks. Going to an LT5 is more akin to sealing the engine and saying, this is what it is. I care more if the SBC becomes DOHC up and down the line, than I do if the LT5 is just a one off special engine.

The modern Hemi has been a successful engine series and is pushrod.

What I really want from GM is a factory small block with a turbo. I do understand the way they package the supercharger in the LT4 is probably the most space efficient way to do forced induction under the low hood of the C7, so there's that. I also think the linear driveability of the LT4 is probably better in high performance applications where modulating the power is just as important as making big numbers. Then again, there are many examples of turbos that have ironed out most of the lag, though at what cost in terms of purchase price, complexity and reliability?

[kevm14]

More info:
http://www.motortrend.com/news/spied-mi ... AC71BC5C5B

The shooter says GM tried desperately to conceal the mid-engine Corvette’s bodywork, covering the car with a black sheet and attempting to block it from view with two Silverado HD trucks. But when the sheet inevitably did come off, it was impossible to hide the mid-engine car’s proportions, especially next to a front-engine Corvette. Seeing the mid-engine Corvette and the ZR1 side by side, we can more clearly see the differences between them. The mid-engine Corvette’s hood is much shorter than the C7’s, and the whole car looks like it’s been stretched from the B-pillar back. The hood line is also lower on the mid-engine Corvette, another clue that there’s no engine up there.

As we’ve previously reported, GM’s mid-engine supercar is expected to join the Corvette lineup alongside the existing front-engine offerings. The ZR1 would be the highest-performance iteration for the front-engine Corvette range, while the mid-engine car, rumored to be named Corvette Zora, would be positioned as a true supercar-fighter designed to take on the best from Ferrari and Porsche — not to mention its cross-town rival the Ford GT. The mid-engine Corvette could receive a new DOHC 6.2-liter direct-injected LT5 V-8 that was leaked in an internal GM document. The ZR1, on the other hand, may get an evolution of the Z06’s 650-hp supercharged LT4 V-8.

To be clear, the C7 ZR1 and mid-engined C8 are not the same vehicle apparently. The LT5 rumor is interesting. 6.2L means the LT5 will be spiritually like the 90s LT5, since the current LT1/LT4 is 6.2L.

I am guessing the Zora will make the Ford GT look silly at far less cost.

I have no idea how the ZR1 will handle even more power than the Z06, given that it is the same architecture.

[kevm14]

He may be right:

A lot of reports I've seen are saying that the ZR1 will get the DOHC and that the Zora will be the C8... I agree with Motor Trend in this article. The Chevy website lists the Corvette Stingray, Corvette Grand Sport, and Corvette Z06 alas different Corvette models. The Zora would slot in as the top Corvette model and would probably be referred to as a Z1 Corvette while the C8 will be front engine. I bet the base price would be in the $110,000-$135,000 and the top Zora would approach the $200,000 mark. They are making the Bowling Green plant huge and there is no way that it would be that big if they were to just have the mid-engine Corvette in production after the C7. Also, I think that the ZR1 will receive a variant of the LT4 with a bigger supercharger or upgraded pulleys. The DOHC V8 wouldn't be capable of producing enough power to beat an ACR around the track, and it would be close to the LT4 in weight. the bigger, better vented hood also would support the bigger supercharger.

Who knows though.

The comments about the LT5 are odd - perhaps there will be N/A and supercharged variants. I just hope DOHC is reserved for just the very high end of power outputs. I don't know why they can't do a turbo setup. Look at what folks are doing with the old one. Maybe it is an emissions issue. If you've seen Sloppy Mechanics, you will know he gives precisely zero fucks about that, with an exhaust pipe directly off the turbo.

[kevm14]

This doesn't seem terribly informed but, maybe:

The LT5 is going to be twin turbo not supercharged. Twin turbo is the only way to outdo the LT4.