Chevrolet’s Corvette was recently the center of attention thanks the new investments at the plant and to some rumors about its future generations.
The idea of the all American sports car targeting a different type of customer hasn’t disappeared and is in fact now being confirmed by reports from GM.
Purists will rest easy as the Corvette will still offer a large displacement naturally aspirated V8 engine for the C7, only this time there will actually be an option to it.
If you aren’t completely biased towards this form of powerplant, the next generation Chevrolet Corvette will actually supply you with a small displacement V8 engine that will be helped along by turbocharging.
It may still be a V8 engine, but as early reports claim it to be just over the 3 liter mark, it will have half the actual displacement of the outgoing model LS3. Needless to say, the turbocharging efforts on this engine will be there with the sole focus of helping performance.
The same early reports make this new engine quite the interesting proposition. Since we’re told it will have over 400 horsepower and a high rev capability which may allow up to 10.000 rpm this certainly won’t be the go to engine for tree hugging individuals.
News of such an assault on the sense come from GM’s North American president, Mark Reuss via thedetroitbureau.com who even went as far as saying the engine will be European in feel.
Given the figures at hand it’s no surprise to say so, but this is quite the bold choice to make for Chevrolet as a brand and for the Corvette as a model with a lot of tradition.
We have no idea on the sort of pricing Chevrolet plans for the smaller engined Corvette, but given the statistics reaching in at around 125 horsepower per liter I would say that the Porsche 911 will see a new rival come to life.
Why would I say that the Porsche 911 is the first to suffer? Because the iconic German sports car is generally the one to come forward with all the latest of technology for the speed freak.
In the new engine GM is lining up for the next generation Chevrolet Corvette that will not only mean twin turbocharging but also something almost even more unorthodox, an overhead-cam setup.
Also lubrication duties will be done using a dry sump system which not only makes for more efficiency but also does away with some of the “accepted” power losses.
