BrianCunningham

here ya go

Mercury Racing Unveils 775-HP Small-Block Aftermarket Auto Crate Engine

https://speedonthewater.com/in-the-n...crate-engine-1

BigMonkey73

:o

"Suggested retail price is $28,995. Exhaust system and engine front drive components such as power steering, alternator, air-conditioner pump, pulleys, belts and related brackets are not included."

I fold...

sdurg24

I guess this harkens back to the Lotus developed and Mercury Marine produced ZR1 engine in the C4 but why the step back to the LS engine instead of the Lt used in current C7s? Does this have something to do with Mercury Marine diverging from GM based engines in their boat engines? Volvo Penta went with the new Gen 4 and 5 GM blocks while Mercruiser switched to their own in house blocks eschewing the GM variants. Curious. Will Mercruiser offer this new DOHC engine in their marine division? Could this new crate engine be the forerunner of a mid-engine Zora? Why wouldn’t GM go with their updated Lt with direct fuel injection? Again, a curious development.

briannutter1

They are barely breaking even at that point. I think is an amazing job done. Would like to see a weight number compared to the Ls7 dry sump and Lsa/ls9 that it beats down handily in terms of power. Package size too width wise. Basically it needs to be installed in a C5, C6 chassis to get people out of their shells. Accessory drives and exhaust freak out a lot of people.

SocalC5Z

Every other manufacturer can pull off multi valve DOHC for their V8's and GM still can't and relies on forced induction (with issues) to make the power numbers for their halo cars. Hats off the Mercury for pulling this off.

sunsalem

Some good questions/observations....
No doubt about it, a heckuva lot of power.
OTOH, $28k is a lot of dough.
What GM might pay for it is another question.
And another thing, can it pass emissions?

BrianCunningham

Marketing, they want a engine based on what's in other GM vehicles

Packaging, those heads are HUGE, which relates to

weight, the old ZR-1 LT5 weighed as much as a BIG BLOCK

Olitho

I read an article several years ago regarding the design of the C5 and the push rod engine. The choice to go with/stay with a push rod engine on the C5 was not an engine engineering decision. It was a car styling decision. The shape of the body had been designed and the C5 as we all know has a long and low hood line. It was determined that a DOHC V8 engine could not fit in the car and maintain the body design commitments that were made. A push rod engine would fit. That brought us the LS1, LS6 and subsequent generations for the Corvette.

carefulnow

That's interesting. I had always just assumed it to be a preference over simplicity and power to weight ratio and center of gravity of the motor itself as the rationale GM might have used to objectively prefer the pushrod engine design, rather than it being a derivative choice of another design constraint unrelated to the drivetrain.

Are those kind of judgements (re: benefits of a pushrod packaging) in fact true? They sound reasonable, but how do you actually measure this and has anyone done it?

sdurg24

Those judgements are in fact true. I myself have heard them many times from various Corvette people not the least of whom is Tadge himself referring to the low profile of the current LT1 in the reveal of the C7.

briannutter1

The ls/lt has a low cg, weight and package size. Costs much less to modify because 4x less precision component count in valvetrain Plus you can’t amortize dohc v8 by putting them in trucks. Anyone can make 4 digit HP with an Ls/Lt. 4v, more rarefied. Take a look at the current “high tech” 3.8 / 6 x 8 and that’s about what you should expect. Be careful what you wish for.

sdurg24

“Be careful what you wish for” is sage advice indeed. Having agreed with that I believe the corralary of that should be; “Be careful what you hold onto”. We have to ask ourselves if what we are holding onto represents old technology that should be replaced. Corvette (GM?) has done a masterful job of developing the pushrod engine in recent years that has propelled Americas Sports car into semi super car status. The results of the IMSA circuit the last two years have highlighted that. However I did say “semi super car” and the facts suggest that with the exception of Porsche the other cars are going for double overhead cams and 4 valves per cylinder. Even corvette race drivers admit we are not the fastest cars on the track. Of course that is as much a function of BOP than the engine make up but like the motorcycle industry of the 1960’s that faced the choice of pushrod cam in the block engines or lightweight high revving DOHC engines the American performance cars seem to be up against the same choice. I owned the “Worlds fastest motorcycle” (a Norton 750 Commando with a twin pushrod Combat engine) for about 3 months until that title was taken by a lightweight high revving Japanese bike of poor quality but today’s incredible rice rockets have left the likes of Harley, Indian, and Victory touting anything but performance as reasons to buy American. I would hate to see Corvette go that dinosaur route. I suspect a DOHC engine is inevitable in the not too distant future.

sunsalem

I like your referencing motorcycle history...well done, sir.
As far as the GM pushrod vs. DOHC goes, all I can say is I like high revving engines.
I like the sound they make, and the smaller the displacement, the better.

My Z06 sounds like my Daddy's Chevy '73 Pickup with a broken muffler.
It gives me ZERO auditory pleasure...sometimes I find it embarrassing.
It doesn't fit the modern aesthetics of the car.

John Shiels

No will not pass.