Photo: Chevrolet
While it’s not a typical practice, General Motors tends to underrate the output of performance-oriented models such as the Camaro ZL1. The newest and the hottest vehicle of this sort is the 2020 Corvette Stingray, which features a small-block V8 built with pride in New York.
LT2 is thy name, and as an evolution of the LT1 in the C7, the entry-level C8 is much obliged to deliver 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet as standard. Opt for the sports exhaust or Z51 performance pack, and the Stingray cranks out 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet.
The question is, how do those numbers stack up with rear-wheel horsepower on the dyno? Motortrend was provided by Chevrolet with a Stingray Z51 featuring the electronic limited-slip differential to find that out. The dyno used for the test complies with the SAE J1349 standard, and as expected, “the C8 provided for all our testing produces more power than claimed.”
Without further beating around the bush, the high-tech dynamometer showed 558 horsepower and 515 pound-feet at the rear wheels on the first run of the Stingray Z51. Then the torque rating dropped to 512 pound-feet for some reason or another, and on the third and fourth runs, the prototype ‘Vette returned 478 horsepower and 536 pound-feet then 544 pound-feet.
General Motors engineers provided a few explanations for these discrepancies, but nevertheless, GM is one of the few automakers who certify their engines through the Society of Automotive Engineers. Validated in April 2019 at the Pontiac Engineering Center in Michigan, the power and torque graph for the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette in this exact configuration look similar to the results from Motor Trend. Assuming a 15-percent drivetrain loss, the car outputs approximately 562 horsepower and 640 pound-feet at the crank.
Remember when Ferrari handed out tuned versions of their new cars to select motoring journalists, then Chris Harris called out the Prancing Horse of Maranello over this practice? Maybe that’s not the case with the ‘Vette considering that an F8 Tributo customer would never look at the Stingray Z51 as an alternative to his beloved Italian supercar.
There is a possibility that GM has underpromised in order to overdeliver, and on a different note, the C8 be considered the General Motors way of saying sorry for the Fiero mid-engined sports car from the 1980s.
The question is, how do those numbers stack up with rear-wheel horsepower on the dyno? Motortrend was provided by Chevrolet with a Stingray Z51 featuring the electronic limited-slip differential to find that out. The dyno used for the test complies with the SAE J1349 standard, and as expected, “the C8 provided for all our testing produces more power than claimed.”
Without further beating around the bush, the high-tech dynamometer showed 558 horsepower and 515 pound-feet at the rear wheels on the first run of the Stingray Z51. Then the torque rating dropped to 512 pound-feet for some reason or another, and on the third and fourth runs, the prototype ‘Vette returned 478 horsepower and 536 pound-feet then 544 pound-feet.
General Motors engineers provided a few explanations for these discrepancies, but nevertheless, GM is one of the few automakers who certify their engines through the Society of Automotive Engineers. Validated in April 2019 at the Pontiac Engineering Center in Michigan, the power and torque graph for the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette in this exact configuration look similar to the results from Motor Trend. Assuming a 15-percent drivetrain loss, the car outputs approximately 562 horsepower and 640 pound-feet at the crank.
Remember when Ferrari handed out tuned versions of their new cars to select motoring journalists, then Chris Harris called out the Prancing Horse of Maranello over this practice? Maybe that’s not the case with the ‘Vette considering that an F8 Tributo customer would never look at the Stingray Z51 as an alternative to his beloved Italian supercar.
There is a possibility that GM has underpromised in order to overdeliver, and on a different note, the C8 be considered the General Motors way of saying sorry for the Fiero mid-engined sports car from the 1980s.
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