RocketV

I'd be okay with a high RPM screamer to park next to my Z06.

lnsaneM

GM is destroying the Corvette tradition with the V6

patrickboyle

Ahhhhhh I can here it now.....The sound of a 6 cylinder ground pounder !! Nothing a nice catback can't fix Should the Corvette EVER go with a 6 cylinder engine, I'll never own another one. I don't care if it weighs 2000 lbs. Looks like I better start saving faster for a new Z06 !

TBIRD57

2013 is a long way off,and i guess my c6 will be the last vette for me.


i remember getting some static in my praise of what nissan was able to do with gt-r. gt-r tech in a sports car form would make it even more menacing,and if we are to believe the c7 speculation, gm may be on board.

with ferrari already having announced a hybrid by 2015,chrysler showing an electric sports car(next viper?)it WILL be a different world for sports cars....all of them.

sickblackvert

the v6s that they make nowadays can produce over 300hp

sickblackvert

yeah good ideathen when the c7 comes out your value will be really fuct. and who cares if the c7 is a v6, as long as it outperforms the c6

SilverFish

I agree for nearly all car models that will be the case but for GM, the Corvette represents far more than just a car model for profit; it is an American Icon and flag ship car. It's value is the status it brings to the whole GM line. It is the car that many people dream to own one day, but also it is the car that is not for every one. It draws people into the show room and most walk out buying something else but they always remember that Vette in the show room. I still remember seeing my first brand new vette in the show room when I was buying may 1986 S10.

The point is, the Corvette does not add that much to GM's bottom line. Yes, it must make a profit, but it is a specialty niche car that GM markets to a small segment of the car buying public. As long as it can keep people's heads turning when they pass a show room or see one on the street, it will bring a certain excitement to the GM line. Strategically the Corvette is well placed and will continue to survive as long as GM keeps it a special car and platform for technological advancements.

C6LSx

As I have reiterated in several posts; a large part of GM's long term economical survival is decreasing their global parts bin inventory with vehicle parts that are shared with various platforms within the GM product portfolio.

GM has invested more than 1 Billion Dollars in the Alloytec V6 engine and it's variants.

This particular engine is currently offered in a 2.8, 3.2(defunct) and 3.6 variant.

The Alloytec DOHC VVT V6 engine is engineered to support direct injection, turbocharging and supercharging as well.

The 3.6 DI version is currently producing 340 BHP in the Holden vehicles and has been dyno tested in a turbocharged application up to 1100 BHP in a Cadillac CTS.

You can bet your last share of GM stock that the next Corvette (C7) will feature the Alloytec 3.6 Liter V6 and assuming that there is a base C7, a Z07 and perhaps a ZR7; the Alloytec 3.6 Liter V6 can comfortably produce 340 BHP in a NA form and in a turbocharged or supercharged form; whatever the engineers desire.

I have two of these engines right now and they are quite a marvel of engineering.

SilverFish

I know we Vette owners get emotional when we feel GM is doing something to "Our Corvette" that we don't want. Heck, I love the V8 too, but I ask myself. What is it I really like about the Vette? One thing very high up on my list is Performance. The Corvette has always been about taking new technology to the edge and giving it to Vette owners first. If GM builds a light weight, comfortable, stylish, roomy Corvette with a V6 that performs equal to or better than our C6 it would sell. Especially if all the other cars are lesser performers. In the 70's when the big block was dropped form the Corvette and HP was at its lowest point, the C3 made sales records (I believe they still stand as the highest sales per year). Why? Because the Corvette was still the best performing, best looking and best handling car America made (The 6.6 Liter Trans AM might be an exception).
Now, fast forward to the C7 and try and picture what the automotive landscape will hold. Lots of smaller displacement engines, some turbocharged or supercharged and whatever other hybrid/electric/fuel cell technology that comes along. Now picture a high reving V6 supercharged 400 HP 2800 pound Corvette. I'd be very interested in test driving that! And if I did buy it, it would sit right next to my C6 in the garage.

Vasta

You make a good point Wayne, but not just for Lingenfelter. If Corvette was smart (and I'm sure they have considered it) they could sell and make a nice profit offering customizable mods through GM Performance Parts for the new C7. I know they do this already, but I'm talking about taking it up to a whole new level.

That is the new trend in cool cars these days (think Mini, Scion) where you mix and match a wide variety of parts and accessories to suit your needs. "Want a supercharger?" We will sell you one! Put it under your existing warranty too! "How about a CAI and exhaust package?" Sure, we'll deliver it to your dealer for install. The brilliance of all this is that it's a win for everyone. It's a win for GM...it's a win for the dealer...and it's a win for the customer!


P.S. Thanks C6LSx for pulling up all that information.
I copied a lot of it into a file for future reference.

Gearhead Jim

All of the prediction articles I've seen put the introduction of the C7 at 2013 or later. GM never gets a car out when planned, so let's say late 2014 as a 2015 model if we're lucky. Wait a year to avoid the perpetual first year bugs, that means late 2015. That's 7 years from now, at the rate I'm driving my 2006 it will have about 140,000 miles by then. Hmmmm...

-vet

Which company is bigger now; GM or Audi? It seems Audi had no problem producing a mid-engine V8 model the R8. It's price is comparable to a ZR1. There is a never ending line of excuses as to why Corvette can't provide a mid-engine model. Front engined V-6 Corvette is simply a lame cop-out. What ever they do it will be too little and too late. Just like with the new Camaro; GM is slow off the mark and about 4 years behind the curve. That's why their stock is worth only $7.50 or less now a share. There seems to be no end to the incompetent clowns from Smith onward who have simply run the business into the ground. The numbers don't lie and that stock price is a stark reminder of how far the mighty have fallen. It is simply criminal but of course no one is held accountable as everyone points fingers at 'the other guy'.

brentil

I think the 300 HP value was kinda low and off when initially quoted. The 3.6L VVT DI V6 already makes 305 HP as is without being boosted or tuned. I'm pretty sure we would see more if there really was a V6 version.

The image is from GMI, it was part of a "imagined" next generation GM lineup, it is in now way real at all or a representation of anything GM is doing.

My sentiments exactly. I want a car that performs and looks awesome. I don't feel like any less of a man because I have a Turbo i4 in my Solstice, and I wont feel like any less of a man with a V6 in a Corvette. The original Corvette had a 6 cylinder, so I don't see why using one again would be so heretical.

mo-shy

Me to

just i hope the new C7 wider and lower

El Puto

As long as it has the low end torque the V8s make, OK. It's gobs of low end torque that make the Vette so fun to drive.

Espresso

That pic looks like a Corvette squeezed into a saturn sky.