Corvette Gets 7-liter Engine

You might think that 6 liters was enough to make thevalves also allow the engine to rev faster safely.
Corvette two-seater fast enough, but not for theIn fact, titanium used to be an aerospace-only material
competition department lurking inside GM. Theybecause it was so expensive, but it is now bein gused
wanted to be able to compete head-to-head with themore in exotic cars and the heads of golf clubs, helping
European supercars in the international endurancethe lesser pros feel not so outclassed by Tiger
races for sports cars.Woods as they might with ordinary drivers.
To do so, they took a leaf out of Ford's book. In theYou will see that the Corvette 7 liter is intended for the
1960s, when Ford found it could not compete with therace track by the fact that the engine has a dry sump
smaller Ferraris at Le Mans with the 4.2 (ex-Indy) orlube system. A dry sump system prevents the oil in
4.7 liter engines, they brought out their 7-liter mill. And itthe oil pan from slopping away from the pick-up on
was so much bigger than the competition that theyfast cornering - the sort you can do only on a track -
won. So the guys behind the Corvette decided toand thus damaging the main bearings.
produce a 7-liter version of America's favorite andInstead of staying in the oil pan, the oil is pumped out to
most famous sports car.a tank, and then pressure fed from there directly to
By the way, the 7 liter Corvette more than competesthe engine bearings and other critical areas. Definitely a
with the Dodge Viper SRT-10, which could give thesystem for top supercars.
standard Corvette a bit of a run for its money. OfThe underpinnings of the car have also been beefed
course, this is not just any old engine. This is a veryup with a new aluminum perimeter frame which
special version of its GEN IV 7.0 liter V-8.reduces weight. Further weight reduction comes with a
This 2006 Corvette is challenging for muscle car of thenew magnesium engine sub-frame. To ensure the car
year with no less than 500 bhp on tap at 6,200 rpm.is stiff enough, it will be available only as a hardtop. The
Maximum torque from this mammoth engine is 475 lbfront fenders and wheelarches are now carbon fiber
ft at 4,800 rpm. This is bound to be a stunner with acomposite panels, which also reduce weight.
top speed of about 185 mph and 0-60 in under 4.0But there's more...
seconds. GM expects the quarter-mile be under 12To get all that power onto the road, and to get it to
seconds.stop, bigger wheels, tires and brakes have been fitted.
To give durability, the engine has been beefed up in aThe front brake discs are now 13.9 inch diameter, and
number of ways. First, the connecting rods and inlet19 x 12 inch wide rims are used at the back; front
valves are now made of titanium - these weigh aboutwheels are 18 x 9.5 inches. Such massive rear tires for
half as much as steel ones and are used in quite aa car with 50:50 weight distribution suggest that the
number of high-performance engines. Because of thecar will have a tendency to oversteer - smoky drifts
low weight, the titanium parts put less load on othercould be the order of the day!
critical parts of the engine - the crankshaft, bearingsAll-in-all, this is a really special car, developed to
and in this case the valve gear as well. The titaniumcompete with the best.