bluman

Translated from an Italian article found at www.corvetteitalia.it

GM, perhaps the most resistant to changes by the Detroit big three is planning a new V8 for the Corvette.
With an engine capacity of 3 liters and supercharging the engine with twin turbos it would be capable of delivering 400 hp, with a 10,000 rpm redline, the new V8 with double overhead camshaft and dual variable valve timing will be just one of the options available for the new Corvette.


possible ???

Racer X

Possible? Sure. I here they can make a pig fly with a catapult.

Likely? No.

Since there is no production engine out there in the GM stable that fits the numbers, even a derived configuration. Maybe they would base it on the Indy car engine. That engine currently ~675hp and $120k a piece maybe a detuned version in higher production quantities would be a lot cheaper.

tuxnharley

I think maybe something was "lost in the translation".................

LT1_E85_Corvette

how would they even warranty something like this? I say no.. it will be a low reving (6.5-7k RPM) small block V8. My money goes on a new design 6.2lt with DI as this would bolt into the Camaro with ease. Beefing up two sports car lines and staying cost efficient makes the most sense.

jackhall99

Jinx

This rumor, or something like it, was making the rounds a long time ago. I think this is just an echo of that old unsubstantiated wish/rumor.

GM could build a 2.8L V8 by siamesing two 1.4L turbos, but it'd be short on power. A 4.0L from siamesing Caddy's 2.0L turbo would hit the Corvette power target. But what would it weigh and how tall would it be?

IIRC this was (philosophically at least) the approach Lotus took with its Esprit V8; it had a (flatplane?) crank that made it work like two I4s.

OnPoint

They don't have to go little (and given the torque penalty, why would they want to).

Unlike Europe, over here in the U.S. we don't - for now anyway - get taxed based upon engine displacement.

That's the main reason you see small displacement engines across the pond.

JoesC5

It's possible that GM could take their 4.5L DOHC 72 degree V8 with the block made from much stronger CGI; destroke it to 3L, change the heads from a diesel configuation to a gasoline configuation, keeping the twin turbos that nests in the valley between the heads. That engine will fit inside the same box that the current LS series 90 degree OHV V8 fits in.

BluegrassMotorsport

McLaren did the same thing by molding two BMW six-cylinders together, and Bugatti the same as well with two Audi eight-cylinders. Both of those engines are nearly bulletproof it seems. So it is certainly something they could do. But I am sure it is something they won't do.

jackhall99

Several "it is possible" and "they could" posts in this thread. Let's face it: anything IS possible.

But as OnPoint correctly pointed out, we are not taxed on engine displacement.

I believe until that happens, it's unlikely we'll see a Corvette with a small screaming 4 or 6 in it. A nice torquey V-8 will continue to power our car.

bluemax750

There are V8s based on two Suzuki Hyabusa motors mated together. They are 1.3 liters each making 190+ hp. So two of them is 2.6 liters making almost 380+ hp. No turbos involved. If you add turbos, then you end up with an 800+ hp monster as there are turbo Hyabusas making close to 500 hp. Oh yeah and they spin past 10,000 rpms. So a turbo V8 that spins 10,000 rpm better make way more than 400 hp. It should be easily capable of that without the turbos. With them if it doesn't clear 600 hp it should be laughed at.

jackhall99

Question: If it's that simple, why isn't every car manufacturer doing it?

Answer: It's not as simple as bolting two bike engines together to get the power you profess as you seem to think.

Dudeurgettnavette

Sounds like something snookie wants!

Racer X

Will they meet emission standards, 100k mile MTBF? At what fuel efficiency? It is not hard to make a 400-600HP engine spinning 10,000 rpm. What is hard is to make it reliable, high endurance and fuel efficient.

tuxnharley

And, I'd like to see the Torque Curve for such an engine. I'll bet there isn't much under about 6500 rpm or so, and then it's real peaky. That isn't gonna work out well in a street car. Remember the old adage - "Horse power is for top speed; Torque is for acceleration!".

JoesC5

You have to remember that forced induction raises the engine's torque really, really fast. My 2.3L Mercedes has a supercharger and you would be surprised at it's acceleration, and it's not a hot rod. It pulls hard starting at 2,000 RPM and has a 5800 redline. A 3L V8 with twin turbo's would be a powerful engine, even at low RPM's.

MitchAlsup

"With an engine capacity of 3 liters"

How are they going to make it that small?

" and supercharging the engine with twin turbos it would be capable of delivering 400 hp, with a 10,000 rpm redline"

Even NASCAR engines cannot rev that high--it is the weight of hte pushrods that prevents this.

", the new V8 with double overhead camshaft and dual variable valve timing will be just one of the options available for the new Corvette."

LMAO

JoesC5

I was turning 8500 RPM with my stock 3" stroke SBC back in 1960. Engine wasn't stock, but the crankshaft and rods were. I was running stock pushrods and heavier 1/8" oversize valves.
There was a slingshot dragster from Texas that was running a destroked SBC(2-5/8" I believe) and a GMC 671 blower that was turning way more RPM what I was(I don't remember the exact number he told me but it was above 10,000).

Today, my stock 4" stroke LS7 turns 7000 RPM and the 427 COPO Camaro turns 7500 RPM.

NASCAR engines are turning 9500 RPM.

A 3L DOHC V8 engine can easily turn 10,000 RPM. The engine mentioned in the OP link is a DOHC, not a OHV engine.

bluemax750

Well, since it is based on two current production motorcycle engines, it meets emissions for the motorcycle they came out of. But the requirements are less stringent then for cars. As for fuel efficiency, probably about the same as any other engine making similar horse power. As for reliability, they Hyabusa engine is known to be almost bullet proof. Guys running boost to more than double the hp on stock bottom ends with no issues. And guys running stock ones hard for many 10s of thousands of miles.

http://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=746

http://www.h1v8.com/page/page/1562069.htm

Racer X

I looked out on cycletrader.com the highest mileage Hayabusa I could find was ~45k miles it was a 2004. The oldest one was 1999 and had less than 10k on it. No examples of this really high endurance. Boost is not the big enemy, it is rpm. The stress goes up with the square of the speed.

The LSx engine has one of the highest BSFC of any high performance engine in production. The Porsche's are close, they are also not 10,000RPM engines. There is a reason for that; high RPM equal high friction, high friction means lower BSFC. The Ferrari which gets closer to 10k has significantly worse mileage than the LSx.