General Motors will officially launch its sixth-generation small-block V8 later this week, with the new engine set to power the upcoming Corvette Grand Sport.
The Corvette Grand Sport was shown off ahead of this weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race with four other generations of the nameplate, all finished in Admiral Blue.
However, the arrival of the new Grand Sport and its official unveiling on March 26 isn’t the headline, with the big focus instead on what is powering it.
In a press release, Chevrolet said the Corvette Grand Sport will feature “the next generation of GM V8 technology”, all but confirming its new Gen VI V8 is under the bonnet.
Set to eventually replace the Gen V V8 – which stretches from 5.3- to 6.2- and 6.6-litres, and can be had in naturally aspirated and supercharged form – the new Gen VI engine will continue the small-block’s long tradition of sticking with a pushrod, over-head-valve setup.
Previous reports have suggested the new V8 will be available in 5.7-litre to 6.7-litre capacities, with the Corvette Grand Sport to adopt the latter.
A short video of the Grand Sports on track at Sebring included a snippet of the engine’s red cover, as well as a choppy idle sound, more aggressive than the existing Corvette’s.
According to GM Authority, the 6.7-litre V8 is to be named as the LS6, and produce 399kW of power, an improvement on the 365kW figure of the 6.2-litre LT2 in the current C8 Corvette Stingray.
It’ll not only power the Corvette Grand Sport but also the Grand Sport X, GM Authority reports, with the latter to replace the Corvette E-Ray as the entry-level hybrid sports car.
This will result in a largely unchanged powertrain, consisting of the new LS6 V8 and the existing E-Ray’s front electric motor to produce 534kW combined, another healthy increase above the outgoing model’s 488kW figure.
More information about the Corvette Grand Sport and Chevrolet’s new-gen V8 will be revealed later this week.
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