Photo: Michael Accardi on Twitter
Back in December 2017, a CAD rendering of the LT7 engine was uploaded on Twitter. Loosely inspired by the LTA that Cadillac markets as the Blackwing V8, the twin-turbocharged engine in the C8 Corvette Z06 comes with a number of notable features.
For starters, the turbochargers aren’t located in the engine, a design which is often called hot vee. Placed below the cylinder banks on either end of the engine, the turbochargers are complemented by a different intake system and twin throttle bodies. So far, it’s clear the LT7 is not an evolution of the LTA that Cadillac utilizes in the CT6 Platinum and CT6-V.
Sources told GM Authority the twin-turbo V8 “will make more than 650 horsepower,” trumping the supercharged small-block V8 in the C7 Corvette Z06. Torque is also expected to exceed 627 pound-feet, which is a lot in a vehicle as light as the ‘Vette. Being a mid-engine sports car, the C8 Corvette Z06 is also supposed to switch from a front-mounted intercooler to water-to-air charge cooling.
As opposed to air-to-air intercoolers, water-to-air systems can be mounted anywhere along the charge piping route. On the downside, this design also happens to be more complex and less reliable than air-to-air systems. On that note, let’s turn our attention back to the Blackwing V8.
General Motors assembles the engine by hand in Bowling Green, right next to the ‘Vette factory. These circumstances lead us to believe the LTA and LT7 are joined at the hip thanks to the DOHC valvetrain layout and twin-turbocharging technology. It is anybody’s guess, however, if the LT7 will share the block with the LTA.
Another unknown is the Z06 nameplate, which could soldier on together with Stingray for the eighth-generation Corvette. Little is known about the ZR1, let alone about the E-Ray hybridized powertrain with close to 1,000 ponies according to the most optimistic estimates.
Looking at the bigger picture, can you remember when was the last time General Motors experimented to such an extent with a sports car?
Sources told GM Authority the twin-turbo V8 “will make more than 650 horsepower,” trumping the supercharged small-block V8 in the C7 Corvette Z06. Torque is also expected to exceed 627 pound-feet, which is a lot in a vehicle as light as the ‘Vette. Being a mid-engine sports car, the C8 Corvette Z06 is also supposed to switch from a front-mounted intercooler to water-to-air charge cooling.
As opposed to air-to-air intercoolers, water-to-air systems can be mounted anywhere along the charge piping route. On the downside, this design also happens to be more complex and less reliable than air-to-air systems. On that note, let’s turn our attention back to the Blackwing V8.
General Motors assembles the engine by hand in Bowling Green, right next to the ‘Vette factory. These circumstances lead us to believe the LTA and LT7 are joined at the hip thanks to the DOHC valvetrain layout and twin-turbocharging technology. It is anybody’s guess, however, if the LT7 will share the block with the LTA.
Another unknown is the Z06 nameplate, which could soldier on together with Stingray for the eighth-generation Corvette. Little is known about the ZR1, let alone about the E-Ray hybridized powertrain with close to 1,000 ponies according to the most optimistic estimates.
Looking at the bigger picture, can you remember when was the last time General Motors experimented to such an extent with a sports car?
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