Corvette has been motivated by some remarkable engines, starting with the Blue Flame I6 back in 1953.
Since the Chevrolet Corvette came to market back in 1953, it has been produced with over 30 engines, many of which were offered in multiple variations. Every engine that has ever been offered in a Corvette was great in its time and many have gained legendary status. Some are well-known due to sales volume, but others played a bigger role in Corvette history.
Power plants like the 327-cubic inch and 350-cubic inch small-block V8s were sold in high volume for many years of the Corvette. The 5.7-liter V8 with the Tuned Port Injection system was another key component in the car’s history, as was the 1990s LT1. It can be argued that these high-volume engines are the most significant due to how many vehicles were purchased with one of them under the hood. However, we picked 10 that we think were the most significant engines in the history of the Chevrolet Corvette. We even include an explanation of why we picked each engine, none of which focus on sales volume.
Since it would be too hard to qualify the best Corvette engine, we are listing our most significant Corvette engines in chronological order rather than placing them in an ascending or descending ranking order.
1) 1953 – The First Ever Corvette Engine
When the first-ever Corvette was introduced for the 1953 model year, it was powered by an inline-six engine named the Blue Flame. Measuring 235 cubic inches, the original Chevy sports car engine offered 150 horsepower in 1954 and 155 horsepower in 1955. It was completely replaced by the V8 in 1956, but it made its place in American performance history.
Without this six-cylinder engine, the world may have had to wait until the introduction of the V8 in 1955 for the first Corvette.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
