Did GM deliberately hold back the LT1

[93Slick]

Did GM leave a lot on the table with the LT1 because it would be within striking distance of the ZR-1?

 

[Toms007]

There is a lot of support for that train of thought. Darn sure held back the LT4 knowing the LS1 was in the wings awaiting it's time.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Did GM leave a lot on the table with the LT1 because it would be within striking distance of the ZR-1?

No.
In fact, they may have even taken a little bit off the table by changing the LT1s cam profile just slightly for 1993. Power stayed about the same but torque went up 10-lbs/ft. Bottom line, the LT1's power rating of 300-hp SAE net was pretty legit.

There is a lot of support for that train of thought.

I've covered Corvette since before the '92 LT1 was introduced and I've never seen any evidence to support that idea.

Darn sure held back the LT4 knowing the LS1 was in the wings awaiting it's time.

But...with LT4, GM definitely put a low rating on that engine for the reason "Toms007" cites. The LT4 was more like 350-hp SAE net. LT4 was a great engine and the pinnacle of traditional small-block V8 technology. Had it been rated with the old SAE gross power rating system of the 60s and early-70s, it would have been 420-hp or so, more than a lot of Big-Blocks.