The Ferrari 458 Italia’s 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 won multiple International Engine of the Year awards while it was being produced so when Chevrolet decided to make a new naturally aspirated V8 for the Corvette Z06, it’s little surprise they wanted to get their hands on a 458.
While recently speaking with The Drive during a presentation about the 5.5-liter V8 of the new Corvette Z06, chief engineer Jordan Lee revealed that the car manufacturer managed to source an engine from a wrecked 458 Italia in Poland. They purchased the V8 for “something like $25,000” on eBay and had it shipped straight to the automaker’s engineering facility in Michigan.
The key difference between the engine of the new Z06 and all other GM engines is the use of a flat-plane crank. The 458’s engine also uses a flat-plane crank and served as the perfect tool for Chevy’s engineers to understand just how such an engine operated.
Watch Also: Driving The 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 Looks Like Sensational Fun
Ferrari 458 Italia engine via RM Sotheby’s
According to the Corvette’s chief engineer Tadge Juechter, he was especially “amazed at how small the bearings were” when the team started to disassemble the engine. Chevrolet spokesperson Trevor Thompkins added that the car manufacturer was particularly keen to discover how Ferrari had protected ignition and electronic components from the vibrations produced by the flat-plane crank.
“One thing Jordan and team took a closer look at was Ferrari’s techniques for ignition coil isolation and securing electrical connectors to avoid fretting problems,” he revealed. “We came to our own solutions but examining engines like the [F136] was beneficial.”
Chevrolet started the development of the Corvette Z06’s 5.5-liter V8 way back in 2014 and once the engine itself had been built, it was slotted into a prototype that was benchmarked directly against a 458 Italia. Sure, the 458 came out some 13 years ago, but it is still regarded as one of Ferrari’s finest-ever production cars. It is so good in fact that not long after Chevy sold the 458 it was testing and replaced it with the more powerful 488 GTB, it decided the 488 lacked emotion and quickly sold it and reversed course, purchasing another used 458.
