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C7 Corvette ZR-1 to be twin-turbo V6?

C7 Corvette ZR-1 to be twin-turbo V6?

Nelson Ireson August 20th, 2008 Nelson Ireson By Nelson Ireson Author August 20th, 2008
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December 31st, 1969 The new king of General Motors' lineup, the Corvette ZR-1, has barely begun making the official press rounds but already insiders are talking about the next-generation version of the car, expected to be based on the as-yet unrevealed C7 Corvette. Definite information is at a premium, but speculation indicates the next ZR-1 could feature a twin-turbo V6 powerplant in place of the traditional big V8. Wild ideas, including mid-engine designs, have been circulating around the C7 generation of the Corvette, but so far most have proven to be little more than fanciful wish-lists. The latest reports, however, seem to be grounded more firmly in reality, if still completely unofficial. The Corvette will almost certainly remain front-engined and reasonably affordable, reports Popular Mechanics. The drastic change in design would lie under the hood, where the 6.2L LS9 that currently generates a furious, supercharged 638hp (476kW) and 604lb-ft (819Nm) of torque would be supplanted by a twin-turbo V6, such as a modified version of the 3.6L direct-injection unit current found in the Cadillac CTS. Insiders reportedly think that engine, in twin-turbo form, could easily produce 400hp (298kW), and given its current naturally-aspirated rating of 306hp (228kW), that sounds like a reasonable claim. That figure sits close to today's entry-level Corvette V8, but is a far cry from the ground-pounding ZR-1's statistical dominance. Extracting enough performance from such a small unit to generate the three levels of Corvette we've grown so familiar with - the base, Z06 and ZR-1 - could end up creating a very highly-strung unit at the upper end of the range. So highly strung that the cost and technology necessary might make it cost-prohibitive, even when fuel efficiency savings are taken into effect. Though that in itself is a bit of a quandary for the twin-turbo idea, as the torquey V8s in the current cars are geared low enough that city and highway fuel economy isn't poor for the sports car class - even the brutal ZR-1 rates at 14mpg city and 20mpg highway. That's a long way from the CAFE-required 35mpg fleet average, but the ZR-1 isn't a high-volume unit. The current standard 'Vette manages a more respectable 16mpg city and 26mpg highway in manual guise. Beating those figures with a twin-turbo V6 won't be easy, as the slightly heavier but similarly powerful Nissan GT-R proves with its 16mpg city/21mpg highway rating.
C7 Corvette ZR-1 to be twin-turbo V6?

C7 Corvette ZR-1 to be twin-turbo V6?

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The new king of General Motors' lineup, the Corvette ZR-1, has barely begun making the official press rounds but already insiders are talking about the next-generation version of the car, expected to be based on the as-yet unrevealed C7 Corvette. Definite information is at a premium, but speculation indicates the next ZR-1 could feature a twin-turbo V6 powerplant in place of the traditional big V8.

Wild ideas, including mid-engine designs, have been circulating around the C7 generation of the Corvette, but so far most have proven to be little more than fanciful wish-lists. The latest reports, however, seem to be grounded more firmly in reality, if still completely unofficial. The Corvette will almost certainly remain front-engined and reasonably affordable, reports Popular Mechanics. The drastic change in design would lie under the hood, where the 6.2L LS9 that currently generates a furious, supercharged 638hp (476kW) and 604lb-ft (819Nm) of torque would be supplanted by a twin-turbo V6, such as a modified version of the 3.6L direct-injection unit current found in the Cadillac CTS.

Insiders reportedly think that engine, in twin-turbo form, could easily produce 400hp (298kW), and given its current naturally-aspirated rating of 306hp (228kW), that sounds like a reasonable claim. That figure sits close to today's entry-level Corvette V8, but is a far cry from the ground-pounding ZR-1's statistical dominance. Extracting enough performance from such a small unit to generate the three levels of Corvette we've grown so familiar with - the base, Z06 and ZR-1 - could end up creating a very highly-strung unit at the upper end of the range. So highly strung that the cost and technology necessary might make it cost-prohibitive, even when fuel efficiency savings are taken into effect.

Though that in itself is a bit of a quandary for the twin-turbo idea, as the torquey V8s in the current cars are geared low enough that city and highway fuel economy isn't poor for the sports car class - even the brutal ZR-1 rates at 14mpg city and 20mpg highway. That's a long way from the CAFE-required 35mpg fleet average, but the ZR-1 isn't a high-volume unit. The current standard 'Vette manages a more respectable 16mpg city and 26mpg highway in manual guise. Beating those figures with a twin-turbo V6 won't be easy, as the slightly heavier but similarly powerful Nissan GT-R proves with its 16mpg city/21mpg highway rating.

Tags: General Motors, Supercars

Posted in: Chevrolet, News


Comments (10 total)

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  1. By NoNameDenton #1, Posted: 8/20/2008

    Heresy, the V8's in the Vette already get pretty great fuel economy, add direct injection and a few other fuel saving but power boosting features to bring the milage up more, do not drop cylinders.

  2. By chris #2, Posted: 8/20/2008

    yeah i concur.. if you drop a turbo 6 in the base vette then you have nothing more than a glorified camaro.. if anything, keep the vette name pure and put your "mid range" power into the camaro... make that a turbo 6 or a turbo 4 for all i care.. the vette stays V8

  3. By www.mywheelsonwalls.com #3, Posted: 8/20/2008

    V6 or V8 I fail to see the problem as GM needs to look at the whole picture and protect the Corvette as a brand. I say this as in our life time such cars will not have cylinders nor will they be powered by fossil fuels.

    Stick with the basic shape or a progression of ,yes and push forward with a technological advance in power supply/generation...... So a twin turbo V6 maybe a good idea and also a stepping stone to the fact that engines will be changing and that heritage cant rely on cylinders.

    I often associated Ferrari F1 cars as only having V12's and anything else would be pure sac-religous [sic] but infact they are doing just fine as a brand without and if anything I now associate Ferrari in F1 as a technology leader.

  4. By Gus #4, Posted: 8/20/2008

    Something we're not talking about here that is very important for this car and others like it:
    Low-end torque.
    When I drove one of the new Vette's, I could not believe how much thrust came out of that car before I even heard the engine. It's like an electric car from idle-2500 RPMs it's so smooth and powerful.
    Maybe a force-fed V6 could do the same thing, but I doubt it would be so smooth, effortless, and, how do I put this, "thrusty"?

  5. By john woo #5, Posted: 8/20/2008

    perhaps they're trying to beat the GTR at its own's game by going twinturbo v6?

  6. By NoNameDenton #6, Posted: 8/20/2008

    I would accept a Corvette with a twin turbo V8 if the downzied how big the V8 is, but not a V6. The only Corvettes to not have a V8 was back when the car was first in production back in the 1950's.

  7. By lamboguy #7, Posted: 8/20/2008

    Why only a V6,American cars are supposed to be big V8s. Sorry i say NO!

  8. By Turkle #8, Posted: 8/20/2008

    John Woo, you have a point. The only reason this speculation has any traction is due to the performance numbers generated by the GTR. I am sure that Chevy feels that they could make a T/T V6 Corvette that is more powerful than the GTR and lighter.

    Oh, and NoNameDenton beat me to the punch. Come out with a smaller displacement T/T V8 for the ZR-1. If Chevy has to use a T/T V6, let it be the base model, not the ZR-1.

  9. By raptor #9, Posted: 8/21/2008

    Why don't they make 3 L V-8 and throw two turbos on it?

    You can't make an iconic car without its most important feature - specific sound of good old V-8.

  10. By nice... #10, Posted: 11/2/2009

    Here we go.. Remember what happen to the thunder bird... Soon we'll have a four seater vette...

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