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A Technological Marvel: Remembering the King of the Hill’s Lotus-Designed LT5 V8

Thirty-three years and four Corvette generations ago, Chevy introduced the ZR-1. It is still one of the most impressive ‘Vettes ever built, mainly because of the technological marvel that was hidden under its hood.
C4 Corvette ZR-1 LT5 V8 11 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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Ever since the C1 hit the streets in 1953, the Corvette has set the standard for what an American sports car should be. By 1968, when the third generation came out, the nameplate had gained worldwide popularity, morphing into a legitimate contender for European sports cars in terms of design and performance, all while maintaining a competitive price.

In 1970, a range-topping engine package called ZR-1 was introduced. Equipped with the outstanding 350-ci (5.7-liter) LT1 small-block that produced 370 hp as well as other exciting upgrades, it transformed the already-great sports car into an absolute beast.

Unfortunately, the oil crisis of 1973 put an end to the ZR-1 and ripped the true notion of performance out of the Corvette’s engine bay for the next decade.

The C4 and the first steps toward bringing performance back

Chevrolet Corvette ZR\-1 \(C4\)
Photo: Chevrolet
The third iteration of America’s beloved sports car soldiered on with grossly underpowered V8s until 1982. Two years after the Stingray was retired, a completely redesigned successor was unleashed on public roads, but with the energy crisis and the resulting emission regulations still plaguing the industry, it had to make do with antiquated engine designs carried over from the previous generation.

That began to change a few years later when the venerable 350 small-block was upgraded with a new fuel-injection system that sensibly improved output. Still, horsepower figures were far from where they were back in the late ’60s and early ‘70s, so engineers – who had to juggle with emission and fuel consumption restrictions – had to come up with a new strategy to bring more power to the Corvette.

Initially, they figured that a smaller-displacement V6 equipped with a turbocharger was the way to go, but, in the end, they chose to remain faithful to the naturally-aspirated V8 recipe and cooked up a brand-new powerplant with modern ingredients like 32 valves and dual overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder heads.

How the LT5 was born

C4 Corvette ZR\-1 LT5 V8
Photo: Herranderssvensson via Wikimedia Commons
With this new motor, engineers didn’t just want to bring true performance back to the Corvette lineup but create one of the fastest production sports cars in the world in the shape of the C4 ZR-1. With the aforementioned restrictions making things even more difficult, the team decided to look for in Europe.

In 1986, General Motors, Chevrolet’s parent company took over Group Lotus the English carmaker and engineering firm renowned for being a force in Formula 1 during the 1960s and 1970s. This acquisition gave the corporation more engineering expertise, which was just what they needed to figure out how to bring performance back and dodge restrictions.

Thus, the development of the Corvette’s new V8 became a joint effort. Lotus stepped in and assembled a team of its finest engineers, all led by the legendary Tony Rudd who, together with their American colleagues put together the new engine.

An engineering masterpiece

Chevrolet Corvette ZR\-1 \(C4\)
Photo: Chevrolet
The project kicked off with the Lotus Etna concept car’s innovative 4.0-liter V8 as a potential candidate. Rated at 335 hp (340 ps) the unit was considered a little too tame, but more importantly, it was too bulky to fit inside the C4’s engine bay.

To solve these problems, the team went for a completely new design that would incorporate the modern tech of the 4.0-liter and combine it with the dimensions of the C4’s standard L98 350. Thus, the Chevy L98’s bore and stroke were retained, resulting in the same 350-ci (5.7-liter) displacement, but the block was re-engineered and cast out of aluminum instead of iron.

Apart from the two-piece aluminum block with Nikasil-coated liners, the new V8 dubbed LT5 featured a host of innovations that put it lightyears away from Chevy’s American-built L98 350. These include a new cylinder head with four valves per cylinder and dual overhead crankshafts driven by double roller steel chains, two fuel injectors per cylinder, two fuel pumps, and an innovative intake system with two runners and three throttle bodies.

To maximize either fuel economy or performance, the engine could run on two separate configurations that were selectable via a key-operated switch on the center console. In normal mode, one set of injectors, the secondary fuel pump, and the secondary intake ports were shut off, limiting output to 200 hp. However, in full mode, the engine was capable of 375 hp (380 PS) and 370 lb-ft. (502 Nm) of torque. These figures would jump to 405 hp (410 PS) and 385 lb-ft. (522 Nm) in 1993 when engineers improved the design of the cylinder heads, valvetrain, and exhaust system.

It could have been even more impressive

Chevrolet Corvette ZR\-1 \(C4\)
Photo: Chevrolet
The unlikely Chevy-Lotus partnership produced unquestionably one of the most impressive naturally-aspirated V8s of the 1990s but, instead of developing it even further, the innovative engine was discontinued in the fall of 1993, just three years after it was introduced.

Lackluster sales of the ZR-1 combined with growing internal dissatisfaction with the fact that the most impressive Corvette had an engine that was designed in the UK and assembled in the U.S. by Mercury Marine’s MerCruiser division, buried the original LT5.

However, the engine’s architecture had much more potential and before GM axed the project, they instructed Lotus to begin work on a new version that would comply with upcoming emission regulations but also deliver more power.

This third-gen LT5 was almost completed when executives put an end to it all. Years later, Graham Behan, the former Lotus engineer who oversaw the development of the 405-hp, Gen II engine as well as the stillborn Gen III managed to source several components from the unfinished motor and put it all together for his new employer, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. Although Behan had to improvise, since he didn’t have all the original parts at his disposal, he built a working powerplant that could make 528 hp (535 ps) and 431 lb-ft. (584 Nm) of torque. This one-off Gen III was completed in 2017.

The LT5-powered ZR-1 was a formidable machine

Chevrolet Corvette ZR\-1 \(C4\)
Photo: Chevrolet
Produced from 1990 to 1995 in 6,939 units but sold all the way through the 1996 model year, the C4 ZR-1 – nicknamed King of the Hill in prototype form – was one of the most impressive sports cars on the market at the time of its release and remained the most powerful factory-built Corvette (on par with the 2002 C5 Z06) until the introduction of the C6 generation two decades later.

Apart from the impressive LT5 engine designed with help from the Britons at Lotus, GM sought help from Europe’s finest for the development of the car’s chassis which handled better than previous generations or the standard model. It came with bigger, more effective brakes and a bespoke suspension developed in collaboration with the German experts at Bilstein who drew inspiration from the system used by Porsche’s iconic 959.

Unfortunately, the prohibitive price tag and the lack of distinctive refinements to its design prevented the ZR-1 from becoming a marketing hit. Sales were encouraging at first but then continued to drop year after year.

While succeeding generations introduced engines that delivered far more power such as the C6 ZR1’s LS9, the C7 ZR1’s new pushrod LT5 (no relation to the original LT5), or the C8 Z06’s mind-mounted LT6 have taken power well over 600 horses (608 PS), the LT5 remains one of the most impressive and technologically-advanced engines ever used by a Corvette, even more than three decades later.

In the YouTube video below, uploaded by MotorWeek, you can take a tour of the MerCruiser plant and see how this epic engine was built back in the 1990s.

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About the author: Vlad Radu
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Vlad's first car was custom coach built: an exotic he made out of wood, cardboard and a borrowed steering wheel at the age of five. Combining his previous experience in writing and car dealership years, his articles focus in depth on special cars of past and present times.
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