GM Says 2015 Corvette LT4 Engine Is Crushing Old LS9 Benchmarks

With several months of engineering work remaining on the ’15 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the sports car already owns the fastest lap at the General Motors Proving Ground. In the coming weeks, more records are expected to fall when it travels to Germany’s fabled Nurburgring for testing.

The supercharged, 638-hp Corvette ZR1 owns GM’s quickest turn of “The ’Ring,” posting a 7:19.63 in 2012. That’s about 3.5 seconds ahead of the previous-generation Z06, which still commands a top-15 time at the track from 2011.

But the redesigned ’15 Z06 boasts an all-new 650-hp 6.2L LT4 V-8, which like the ZR1 with its 6.2L LS9 V-8 uses an Eaton Roots-type blower for added power over base-model Corvettes.

Jordan Lee, chief engineer and program manager for the small-block V-8 at GM, says the LT4 crushes the performance benchmark set by the LS9.