Flat-Plane Crank DOHC LT6 to Power the 2023 Corvette Z06! It revs to 8,600 rpm, churns out 670 hp, and will power the new Corvette C8 Z06 supercar! Who will be the first to swap one into a classic hot rod? The LT6 engine that will power the new 2023 C8 Corvette Z06 is as game changing as the LS1 was when it was introduced in 1997. Bold statement? Yep, but once you delve into the guts of the LT6, and look at its specifications, that opening claim may end up being somewhat of an understatement. "The new Corvette Z06 defines the American supercar," said General Motors President Mark Reuss. "It builds on the distinctive design and groundbreaking dynamics introduced with the mid-engine Corvette and elevates them to deliver refined but uncompromising track capability with world-class performance."
The Z06 is set apart by its beating heart: The all -new 5.5L DOHC LT6, the highest-horsepower naturally aspirated V-8 to hit the market in any production car—ever. As hot rodders, we're thinking in terms of salvaged swaps and crate engines, so let's take a deeper dive into this very cool bleeding-edge V-8. The 2023 Z06 is a supercar for those without supercar-sized wallets. Yeah, at around a $85k for the base model, it isn't cheap, but considering that it's on par with Lambos, Ferraris, and the like, it certainly falls on the more affordable side of the ledger. There are tons of stories out there about what an amazing hunk of engineering the C8 Z06 is, but we're here to talk about what motivates it down the highway and around your favorite road course: the revolutionary LT6 engine. Add this all up and you end up with the most powerful naturally aspirated factory engine ever stuffed into a Corvette: 670 hp at 8,400 rpm (with an 8,600-rpm redline) and 460 lb-ft of twist at 6,300 rpm should be enough to get anyone's attention. And, no, the 8,600-rpm part wasn't a typo, thanks to the super-lightweight rotating guts, short stroke, and oversquare cylinders. While this LS6 seems "all new" and fresh on the scene the truth is that a version of this engine has been powering the Corvette C8.R race cars since 2019. All that on track testing helped engineers refine the LT6's performance and durability. When we first heard the C8.R and figured out it was running a flat plane crank we speculated, over a year and a half ago, that due to the rules governing Chevrolet Racing that GM would have to field this engine in a production car and our bets were on the Z06. If you have a keen eye, and look around the engine bay of the Z06, you'll find little rocket ships cast or molded into various parts. Was this an inside joke about how the new 2023 Corvette Z06 will be a rocket? Well, that would be a good guess, but really it was the design team giving the LT6 engine family the nickname Gemini. This is due to its use of twin 87mm throttle bodies, twin cams, twin high-pressure fuel pumps, and other pairs of cool parts. Nice to see they are still having fun over at GM. 10
