We now have an official number behind how much money General Motors is investing into its new sixth-generation small-block V8, and it’s not a small one.
Previously, GM announced combined investments of US$1.7 billion (A$2.4 billion) towards the Flint, Michigan and Buffalo, New York plants which will produce the new V8, while also confirming it’ll be made at its Canadian engine plant in St. Catharines, Ontario.
That latter announcement was made in February but with no monetary commitment published at the time, though GM confirmed this week it’ll receive CA$691 million (A$707 million), bringing the total investment into the V8 up to just over US$2.2 billion (A$3.1 billion).
“Today’s announcement confirms St. Catharines will play a key role in one of our core vehicle programs for years to come, and it reflects General Motors’ confidence in the St. Catharines team and their proud 74-year legacy of powering our most popular vehicles,” said GM Canada president and managing director, Jack Uppal.
The St. Catharines Propulsion plant currently produces not only the fifth-generation ‘LS’ V8 engine, but also the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission fitted to the Chevrolet Corvette C8.
GM has already revealed the first iteration of the new V8 engine, in the form of the ‘LS6’ powering the Corvette Grand Sport and future Stingray variants.
Displacing 6.7-litres, the LS6 is half-a-litre larger than the 6.2-litre LT2 which currently powers the Corvette Stingray, retaining the same 103.25mm bore but expanding its stroke to 100mm, up from 92mm.
The LS6 also features a 13:1 compression ratio, an increase from the LT2’s 11.5:1, while the broader Gen VI small-block will be characterised by an aluminium block with cast-in iron cylinder liners.
No replacement for displacement: GM details bigger, better new V8
In the Corvette, the LS6 gets a new lubrication system, forged pistons and rods, revised exhaust manifolds, a 95mm throttle body and a tunnel ram intake.
What results is an engine which produces 399kW and 705Nm. For context, the LS2 in the Stingray produced 365kW and 630Nm as standard, or 369kW and 637Nm with Chevrolet’s performance exhaust system.
“There is no replacement for displacement!” said Mike Kociba, assistant chief engineer of the sixth-gen small-block V8, upon the engine’s unveiling.
Other sizes and layouts of the V8 will be applied to different GM products, such as its full-size pickups and SUVs.
In Australia, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is the only pickup available with V8 power (in the form of the 6.2-litre L87), as the rest of its rivals are exclusively powered by smaller sixes, while the current ‘Gen 5’ V8 – or at least different variants of it – can also be found in the GMC Yukon SUV and Chevrolet Corvette sports cars.
Australian and US executives have previously committed to keeping V8s alive locally for as long as it is economically viable, or until regulations forbid them from doing so.
“We’ve always said and maintained the customer is our priority,” General Motors Australia Managing Director, Jess Bala, told Torquecafe in May 2025.
“We put them at the centre and as long as customers keep telling us they want that powertrain in that particular vehicle, we will keep bringing it to market.”
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