The Heart of a Corvette ZR1 for Sale!

Tuners love crate engines, because they afford people with relatively modest horsepower a boost that will leave competitors hanging in the dust trail. GM understands that and is ready to give people what they want, more power under the hood, courtesy of the fastest car in their line-up, the Corvette ZR1.

That's right, the supercharged LS9 6.2 liter monster of an engine is going to be available for sale as a crate model starting with fall 2009. It will be sold though GM Performance Parts and it will contain everything the buddying racer needs to improve his time on the quarter mile.

The press release says this baby will be perfect for modified vintage Corvettes, muscle cars, street rods and even “shoebox” Chevys, but we say it wouldn't look too bad on a RX-7 or a BMW E30. Whatever makes your fancy, especially since it's sold as a full bolt on package, complete with the ignition system, the supercharger assembly and exhaust manifolds.

The only other things you'll need to get yourself will be the oil tank, since the engine is dry sump and the external coolant tank for the charge cooler. Oh, and you might also want to purchase an ECU/wire harness while you're at it.

The LS9 was built for speed and high revving, using stronger cylinder heads and steel cylinder liners honed with a deck plate. Other parts that enable the engine to run at high speeds are the titanium intake valves, the high-flow cylinder heads, the four-lobe rotor design and a dual-brick charge cooler.

No word yet on the price tag, but expect it to be something rather expensive, because the heart of a Corvette ZR1 doesn't sell for peanuts. Though you won't have to take out another mortgage on your home, with the money you're going to pay for this engine, you could probably easily score a second hand ride.