13 Best Corvette Engines Ever
1. 1955 Corvette 265ci V8
Looking back from the 21st century, the small block motor in 1955 does not seem that remarkable. Making 195hp (and that is gross, not net) out of 265 cubic inches, or nearly 4.4 liters, seems like nothing these days, with 3.6 liter V6 motors making 300hp. But in many ways the 265 was ahead of its time, being much lighter, higher revving and better breathing than earlier V8 motors. In fact, even with nearly every modern update, the 4.3 liter V6 GM was using in trucks and vans was making the same power that the 1955 motor was rated at.
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2. 1956 Corvette 265ci Dual Quad V8
Once the Corvette and the Chevy division had a V8, the race was on. The hottest version in the second year of production was the dual four-barrel carburetor-equipped 265, with the optional high lift camshaft, rated at 240hp. This combination was listed by GM as "recommended for racing only," with a milder cam-equipped dual quad motor rated at 225hp. It is not known exactly how many of the top spec were built (little more than 100), but only about 3,000 left the factory with the two carb option in either rating. This same setup was offered on the 283 the next year, making 245hp or 270hp depending on cam, with the higher output only available with the manual transmission.
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3. 1962-65 Corvette 327ci Fuel Injected V8
Sure, the Corvette got the Rochester fuel injection in 1957 on top of the 283hp 283ci small block, but the 1962 360hp 327ci motor just blows that away. Now that Duntov was on the job at the factory, and Smokey Yunick was developing more power for the small block secretly out of his Daytona garage, the small block was really waking up. The mechanical fuel injection may seem crude compared to the electronic systems of today, but at the time it allowed much longer duration cams with more overlap, without the poor low RPM driveability a carb would have had.
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4. 1967-69 Corvette 427ci Tri-Power V8
Now this was not the first big block to be installed in the Corvette (it got the 396ci version in 1965), but this was the first with tri-power. Before the advent of fuel injection, and variable runner length/displacement intake manifolds, mounting three 2bbl carburetors allowed much the same function. The central carb would supply all the fuel and air until the throttle was opened past a certain point, then the outer carbs would open, feeding much shorter intake runners. This allowed a motor to have low end torque and driveability, plus plenty of top end power.
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5. 1967-69 Corvette 427ci L88 V8
Chevy pulled a fast one when they listed the L88 427ci motor in the spec sheet of the 1967 Corvette at just 430hp. Since the exotic tri-power equipped motor was rated at slightly more, and cost less, of course it got many more buyers. But the L88 was secretly rated at much, much lower power than it actually made and was designed mostly for racing, with 12.5:1 compression, Holley carb, aluminum radiator and positraction, as well as the deletion of the radio and heater. Only 20 cars left the factory with this motor in 1967, and some people claim they made more than 550 gross horsepower in the real world. Not really worthy of its own entry as only a handful were made, the 1969 427ci ZL1 motor is basically this motor, with an aluminum block and cylinder heads, to be more than 200 lbs lighter.
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6. 1970 Corvette 350ci LT-1 V8
The hate mail is going to pour in for leaving the 390hp 454ci big block off this list, but the small block cars have always been better handling, and the LT-1 350 motor with 370hp is a much more enjoyable car to drive around corners. The 327ci motor was punched out to 350ci in 1969, and in 1970 it got a special high performance version putting out 370hp but with plenty of low end, a milder cam (than the 375hp 327), and an ordinary 4bbl carb on top of it. Order the LT-1 and add the ZR1 chassis parts, and you were a force to be reckoned with on any mountain road or race track. Unfortunately, it was all going downhill from here, with low compression, unleaded-friendly, smog-choked motors for the next 20 years.
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7. 1971 Corvette 454ci LS6 V8
The LS6 motor option is the swan song for the big block Corvettes, with compression down to just 9:1 to run good on regular gas, but with better flowing aluminum heads; it was rated at 425hp gross (the previous year an LS6 was offered as a crate engine, rated at 460hp). This was no super high strung race motor though, as it was offered with air conditioning and all the other options, including the automatic transmission. This high performance engine would be offered for a few more years, in increasingly lower horsepower ratings, starting with the switch over to net power and 390 in 1971. The Corvette would not get this level of power until the DOHC C4 ZR1 hit 405hp in 1993.
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8. 1985-91 Corvette 350ci TPI L98 V8
The malaise era (roughly 1972-1984) was bad for power across the board, but for a high performance car like the Corvette it was a crying shame. The darkest hours for the Corvette saw it with less than 200hp (165hp in 1975), and a sad little 305ci motor in the California model in 1980. When the Cross-Fire Injection was replaced by the Tuned Port Injection system in the 1985 C4 Corvette, things started to get better. The C4 was already ten times better than the C3 when it came to handling and brakes, and when it got the fully modern motor it was again a match for the best from Germany and Italy.
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9. 1990-95 Corvette 349ci LT5 DOHC 32V LT5 V8
The body and chassis of the Corvette may have been looking a little old in 1990, but it still was a modern performing car. GM felt they wanted to go after the exotics, like Lamborghini and Ferrari, and since they owned a piece of Lotus at the time, they had them whip up a new V8 based loosely on the small block with overhead cams and 32 valves. The resulting car set plenty of production car speed records, but ended up with a sticker price nearly twice that of the standard Corvette. The stock car would go from 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds, and topped out at 180 mph or more. Less than 7,000 of these cars were ever built.
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10. 1996 Corvette 5.7l LT4 V8
Chevrolet had a last hurrah for the outgoing C4 Corvette in 1996 when they introduced the tricked-out LT4 5.7-liter V8. The 2nd generation small block motor was introduced in 1992 and called the LT1 in most applications, with 300hp and improved breathing and cooling. For 1996, the factory bumped the compression, added more lift, and used a few more tricks to give it 330hp when connected to a manual transmission car. Sadly, we are now into the plastic engine cover period, so there just is not much to see under the hood.
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11. 2001-2004 Corvette Z06 5.7l LS6 V8
The Chevy LS1 V8 motor debuted as the base motor in the Corvette with the 1997 model year, and made 345hp, more than had been offered in a long time (except for the exotic ZR1). For 2001, a special performance model called the Z06 was introduced with a fixed notchback roof and a more powerful LS6 motor putting out 385hp, upgraded to 405hp by the end of the model run in 2004. These cars were tested by magazines to run 0-60 mph in less than four seconds, and the 1/4 mile in less than 12.5 seconds. The C5 Corvette Z06 was the fastest and quickest Corvette ever made up until that time, beating all the big block cars from the glory days, even the ZR1.
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12. 2006-2013 Corvette Z06 7.0l LS7 V8
The LS motors make so much power so effortlessly, GM just kept making them bigger and stronger and dropping them into Corvettes. The base motor in the new C6 Corvette was a 6.0l LS2 that made 400hp, which grew to a 6.2l LS3 in 2008 that made 430hp. The new version of the lightweight, track-ready Z06 was released in 2006 with a 7.0l LS7 motor, with an astronomical 505hp. How were they going to top that?
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13. 2009-2013 Corvette ZR1 6.2l Supercharged V8
In order to outdo the big bore Z06 with the 7.0l, Chevy had to add forced induction, and the 6.2l LS9 was born. Going backward to the smaller bore block for durability, and lowering compression to just 9.0:1, GM then bolts a Roots blower to the top of the motor and blows more than 10 psi through an intercooler. This may be the most powerful V8 GM ever produces, with increasing pressure for better fuel economy and lower carbon emissions, but only time will tell.
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Trying to get the most out of your Corvette's engine? Check out the How To section on Corvette Forums.