GM unveils redesigned V8 engine for 2014 Corvette
Detroit, Mich. — General Motors says the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Corvette that goes on sale next year will get a new 450-horsepower V8 engine.
The engine, designated LT1, displaces 6.2 litres and is the fifth generation of GM’s small-block V8 family.
Versions of the LT1 are expected to be used in other GM products, GM sources said, including the automaker’s redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.
In the new Corvette, the LT1 will enable the sports car to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just under four seconds, or a few tenths of a second faster than the current model, said Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer for Corvette.
The LT1 will be “the most fuel-efficient 450-horsepower engine on the market,” GM said at a media briefing Wednesday at its global powertrain headquarters in Pontiac, near Detroit.
This is the latest generation of GM’s small block engine, which was introduced in 1955. The 2014 Corvette will be the seventh generation of the iconic American sports car introduced in 1953.
The engine press briefing was the first time GM has revealed specific details about the 2014 Corvette, other than the new logo which was unveiled last week.
Jordan Lee, chief engineer for the small-block V8 program, said that the new Corvette will improve on the current model’s combined highway-city fuel economy rating of about nine litres per 100 km, but that the official rating will not be determined until closer to the car’s launch at mid-year.
Juechter said that there has been a lot of concern among the devoted legion of Corvette fans whether the 2014 model will remain true to the car’s rich history.
“We are not going to be a shadow of our former self,” Juechter said.
The Corvette’s sales are relatively low — 10,570 through September, according to Autodata.
“They have had a V8 for 57 years. They want their V8,” Juechter said.