OnPoint

I agree. I doubt Corvette engineers, including their Chief, want this on the Corvette.

Hopefully they find a way to keep it off.

lt4obsesses

Right, and the article is about the new "Cadillac" engine as it is designed and built. If GM were to remove the start/stop and change the exhaust manifolds to fit the Corvette, it technically becomes a different engine. Just removing the start/stop, I believe would require a different part number for the assembled engine.

johnglenntwo

Point and shoot! A more positive switch!

JoesC5

3) the CAD drawing of the engine/transaxle cradle clearly show that it was designed for an engine with the turbo's mounted low and to the outside of the heads.

It makes absolutely no sense to have two different DOHC heads for such a low production engine.

I'm of the opinion that the NA 6.2L LT1 design engine will be the base engine for the ME, and there will be a 6.2L DOHC TT(and not a HOT-V design) for the HP model of the ME. Until I see a CAD drawing of something other than the above, I'll stick with that opinion.

I'm also of the opinion the C8 will be a FE car and that there is a possibility that the FE C8 will have the 500HP DOHC TT HOT-V as the base engine and the 550HP HOT-V will be for a GS model of the FE C8.

I'm also of the opinion that the FE C8 will be the high volume base car and the ME will be a high MSRP/low volume, high performance car, with it's own nameplate(Zora, etc).

My opinion is that the 4.2L TT Cadillac engine has been in R&D longer than the ME car has, thus the Corvette engineers would know it was being developed and that CAD drawings we have seen would have shown the HOT-V TT V8 if that engine was going to be the base engine in the ME, as is your opinion.

Just like your opinions, my opinions are just that with no factual basis, other than what we have been privy too, such as the CAD drawings, with some common sense thrown in based on 65 years of Corvette history

I don't believe that GM has placed all their eggs in one basket(ie: 100% mid engine cars with no FE version).

johnglenntwo

Lots of options, but, this thing by itself is nice work!

LT1 Z51

Let's just say I agree 50% with you.

elegant

Question:

Would we prefer having more fun conjecturing for the next 9 months, or would we prefer knowing today, exactly what will be revealed on January 12th?

Reveal day is 296 days from now (when I first calculated it, it was more than 600 days. Wonder if anyone “tap outs” in this section — can’t cope with our chosen form of anticipation.


IF GM had $1 for every one of our wrong conjectures in our C8 section (including mine too of course), they could price the 2020 ME at $49,999 and still make a profit on its run.

LT1 Z51

TBH,

Since the CAD leaks my information has almost entirely dried up. I'm running on rumors, my previous knowledge and my industry experience.

Things could go sideways real fast here.

I did not anticipate a Hot-V engine.

Ted P

On our BMW you only turn off once and it stays off. The 1st time it enabled I thought what a pain in the *** to drive with this thing enabled full time or to have to turn it off every time you start the car. Most annoying option ever!

johnglenntwo

The truth is properly executed is simply better, or they wouldn't be trying it!

LT1 Z51

Then they don't get credit on the sticker for it.

lt4obsesses

True, the biggest conjecture here is that they even build a mid engine Corvette. I mean, we've seen the mules, and then there are those CAD renders, which could be argued a hoax.

That said, there are a lot of folks on here that seem to have a pretty good working knowledge of how things work around GM and Bowling Green.

Me, I have no real freaking idea. My thoughts are simply based upon my basic knowledge of automotive mechanics and systems, general understanding of the automotive market, and the idea that within GM's design and marketing, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Other than someone slipping a little truth serum into Tadge's whiskey, this is about all we're gonna get.

NemesisC5

The CADs could be from reboot of ME program, disinformation or other. I've disregarded the technical aspects only taking away that an ME has development history and is progressing in development. I did not expect expect Hot-V configuration for ME and it may only be for Cadillac and FE C8 depending on entirety of packaging. We don't know what we don't know.

Trackaholic

A hot-V V8 seems great for a ME Vette, since you can more easily route the exhaust than you could in a FE vehicle. However, the CAD showing a traditional V8 seems to imply that the engine won't be a hot-V design.

Also, the undersquare design does not seem appropriate for a sports car. Nor does an engine making 600+ lb-ft of torque but "only" 550 HP. That means the engine is peaking way below 5000 RPM. Great for effortless performance with decent fuel economy (due to low RPM operation), but not very exciting.

Larger turbos could push the torque peak higher in the RPM range, improving power and feel, but the undersquare design would likely remain. There really isn't a way to significantly affect that without making large changes to the design. I guess with appropriate turbo mapping the undersquare aspect isn't much of a detriment.

Still, the more I think about it, the less I think this engine will be used in the Vette. Maybe a sportier version of it will make in at some point.

I really doubt this would be used in a front-engine vette, which I think will stay with updated versions of the LT1. I think the low hood of the vette might suffer too much if an engine like this were used.

Regarding start-stop tech, I would be OK if the car had an ECO mode or something where that was enabled by default. You could also have the "touring" mode where it was not. Of course it would also be disabled in the even sportier modes. Maybe the car would start in either ECO or "Touring" (whichever it was left in when shut down), which would provide an option for the tech to be enabled by default (for EPA purposes) but also an option for it to be disabled by default (for enthusiast purposes). Anyway, it seems like there might be ways to elegantly handle that situation using the drive modes. Perhaps that would also give them a way to more easily disable the skip-shift as well (assuming a manual transmission is available).

-T

jagamajajaran

I don't think the Cadillac engine that has been revealed will go into a Corvette. Will a close variant go into the ME? Possibly...likely. Will the ME be a Corvette? Much speculation being made in all directions.

OnPoint

For the love of Zora, the ME needs to be a Corvette.

jagamajajaran

I think it needs Zora's name on it for sure!

OnPoint

SBC_and_a_stick

Things to like:
hot V
sturdy enough to handle that torque figure

Things not to like:
There is no variable valve lift like in the M5's engine, aka Valvetronic III
Pistons are cast
Much smaller bore than M5's engine which means it's not only lower displacement but has little room to grow as it's already a stroker
It runs 20 psi, little room to mod here even if cast pistons don't crack easy

Overall, this is catch up to a 2010 engine made by BMW, the S63B44O0. In 2018 BMW's V8 is much farther ahead, and BMW already sells the engine, so we're really looking at 10 year old tech.

I'm a bit underwhelmed but say you get an ME 'Vette with this engine at $55k...well that would be a good deal.

elegant

I also hope that it would be called a ZORA!

However, if it were to be a ZORA, would it a ZORA all on its own (e.g. a Corvette not being a ZORA, nor a ZORA being a Corvette)? Or would it be a “Corvette ZORA”?