Chevrolet engineers did not spare the horses when they were designing next year’s Z06 version of America’s sports car, the Corvette. They upgraded and supercharged the LT4 small-block engine, giving the 6.2-liter V8 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm. It also has tremendous low-end torque, cranking out 457 lb-ft just off idle and 625 lb‑ft by only 2,800 rpm.
Some of the new features on the ZO6’s LT4 engine include:
- Rotocast aluminum cylinder heads that are stronger and handle heat better than conventional aluminum heads.
- Lightweight titanium intake valves.
- Machined and forged powder-metal steel connecting rods that reduce the amount of reciprocating mass in the engine.
- Forged aluminum pistons with a structure that increases their strength, letting them handle higher cylinder pressures.
- Stainless-steel exhaust manifolds and an aluminum balancer that are lighter than before.
- Dual-pressure-controlled oil pump in the dry-sump oiling subsystem.
- A 1.7-liter supercharger that spins at 20,000 rpm, 5,000 rpm faster than the supercharger on the ZR1 Corvette.
The engine will be mated to either a seven-speed manual transmission or an all-new paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission, the first automatic offered in a Z06.