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Corvette ZR1's LT5 Engine Was Nicknamed “BAS” During Development

Under the bulging, carbon fiber-decked hood of the Corvette ZR1, there lies the single most powerful General Motors shoehorned in the engine bay of any of the automaker’s production cars. It’s the ultimate expression of the seventh-generation Corvette, and the LT5 has much to do with that.
Corvette ZR1 20 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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The LT5 is an evolution of the 650-horsepower LT4 found in the Z06 (and Camaro ZL1), though the golden bowtie went to great lenghts to squeeze every ounce of performance from the pushrod V8. For starters, this is the first GM-developed engine with direct and port fuel injection technology.

Then there’s the Eaton supercharger’s displacement, which goes up by 52 percent (2.65 liters) compared to the Z06 and benefits from intercooling to keep things nice and neat. Producing 755 horsepower (563 kW) and 715 pound-feet of torque (969 Nm) is nothing to scoff at, with General Motors integrating four new radiators into the ZR1, bringing the total to 13 heat-exchanger units. If that’s astonishing, bear in mind the Bugatti Chiron needs 10 radiators to keep the 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 nippy.

Why would General Motors bring back the LT5 name from the original that made its debut in the 1990 Corvette ZR-1? Other than the fact it has a pleasant ring to it, LT5 sounds so much better than BAS. When it was in development, General Motors engineers nickamed the 6.2-liter V8 engine “BAS” as a reference to the forced induction assembly. To the point, the LT5 started out as the “Big Ass Supercharger,” and that’s wickedly cool.

According to Jordan Lee, chief engineer of the LT5, the connecting rods, pistons, head, and block are all carryover from the LT4. Speaking to Automotive News, Lee claims the supercharger needs 110 hp to keep it spinning at 15,860 rpm. In other words, the engine is good for 865 ponies.

But when was too much enough? The tuning world will certainly mess with the internals of the LT5, which General Motors highlights it voids the warranty, regardless of what part the owner chooses to throw in there.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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