General Motors could offer the new Corvette Z06’s 5.5-liter LT6 V8 as a crate engine, but high demand for the car may mean there aren’t enough left over to sell.
Russ O’Blenes, GM’s Director for the Performance and Racing Propulsion Team, told GM Authority that “there’s obviously discussion” about the sale of the LT6 as a crate engine, but noted the voracious appetite for the Corvette Z06: “I think right now, the good news is we’re selling I think three years’ worth of sales already on the cars.”
“Our customers are the most important, building the cars that the customers ordered is the most important,” said O’Blenes. “The great news is that we’ve been selling tons and tons of cars because people want our product.”
Read Also: This Is How The 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06’s N/A V8 Delivers 670 HP
This, however, doesn’t mean that GM may not sell the LT6 V8 in the future.
“I’m sure it’s something that we’ll continue to investigate,” said O’Blenes. “We’ve done a lot of development with it as we worked really closely with the production team, so we’ve got a really good feel for how to do it.”
In the 2023 Corvette Z06, the naturally aspirated, flat-plane-crank V8 delivers 670 hp (679 PS/500 kW) and 460 lb-ft (623 Nm), making it the most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 ever used in a production car. It also gives the engine a 20 hp (20 PS/15 kW) advantage over the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 in the last-generation Z06. Its flat-plane-crank, meanwhile, allows it to rev up to 8,600 rpm.
Mind you, it is not the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 that Chevrolet offers. That title belongs to the ZZ632 that is sold exclusively as a crate engine and makes 1,004 hp (1,017 PS/749 kW). However, it has nearly twice the capacity at 10.35 liters and costs $37,758.72.
