News: GM Says 2015 Corvette LT4 Engine Is Crushing Old LS9 Benchmarks

[Rob]

LT4 Puts ‘Brutal’ Power Behind Corvette Z06

Sep 9, 2014
James M. Amend | WardsAuto

MILFORD, MI – With several months of engineering work remaining on the ’15 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the sports car already owns the fastest lap at the General Motors Proving Ground. In the coming weeks, more records are expected to fall when it travels to Germany’s fabled Nurburgring for testing.

The supercharged, 638-hp Corvette ZR1 owns GM’s quickest turn of “The ’Ring,” posting a 7:19.63 in 2012. That’s about 3.5 seconds ahead of the previous-generation Z06, which still commands a top-15 time at the track from 2011.

But the redesigned ’15 Z06 boasts an all-new 650-hp 6.2L LT4 V-8, which like the ZR1 with its 6.2L LS9 V-8 uses an Eaton Roots-type blower for added power over base-model Corvettes.

Jordan Lee, chief engineer and program manager for the small-block V-8 at GM, says the LT4 crushes the performance benchmark set by the LS9.

Full Story: LT4 Puts ‘Brutal’ Power Behind Corvette Z06 | Vehicles & Technology content from WardsAuto

 

[Hib Halverson]

What a bunch of marketing flim-flam.

The reason the '15 Z06 is quicker than the '09-'13 ZR-1 around the MRC and will be quicker around the 'Ring has little to do with engines.

It has everything to do with chassis structure, suspension, tires and an electronically-controlled differential.

The power increase is 12-hp....2% a minuscule number, the only practical purpose of which is marketing.

The reasons why a 200-lb heavier car can perform better on the track is, again–structure, suspension, tires and the eLSD.