The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is officially the most powerful production car ever made by General Motors, with its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine rated at 650hp at 6,400 rpm and 650 lb-ft (881 Nm) of torque at 3,600 rpm. Previously, GM said the engine produces more than 625 horsepower and 635 lb-ft (861 Nm) of torque.
The Z06 is also one of a few production cars available in the U.S. that delivers more than 600 horsepower. Compared to other supercar engines, the LT4 produces an enormous amount of low-end torque, delivering 457 lb-ft (619 Nm) just off idle and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) by only 2,800 rpm.
GM says the V12-powered Ferrari F12berlinetta delivers about 28 percent less torque than the Z06, despite offering about 12 percent more horsepower, while its peak torque isn’t achieved until 6,000 rpm. The LT4 maintains 90 percent of its peak torque, or 592 lb-ft (802 Nm), from 2,500 to 5,400 rpm.
The new Z06 engine produces 40 percent more peak torque (180 lb-ft/244 Nm) than the previous generation’s 7.0-liter LS7 engine, and 7.5 percent more than the supercharged 2013 Corvette ZR1’s 604 lb-ft (819 Nm). At 3,200 rpm, the new LT4 surpasses the LS7 by 208 lb-ft of torque (252 Nm). In terms of horsepower, the LT4’s 650-hp rating is 29 percent greater than the LS7’s 505 horsepower, and 12 horses more than the ZR1’s LS9 engine.
The new LT4 engine is based on the same Gen 5 small block foundation as the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray’s LT1 6.2-liter naturally aspirated engine, but incorporates several unique features designed to support its higher output and the greater cylinder pressures created by forced induction.
The engine is assembled at the new Performance Build Center at GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant and at GM’s Tonawanda engine plant in New York. It is offered with a standard seven-speed manual transmission or an all-new, paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission built in Toledo, Ohio. The 2015 Corvette Z06 goes on sale in the fourth quarter of 2014.
By Dan Mihalascu
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