In evolutionary terms, the latest C7 Corvette is the best of its breed – faster, more powerful, and arguably better looking than a number of its forefathers. Understandably, the whirring bits underneath the hood have a good deal to do with that, perhaps none more so than the LT4 V8 stuffed inside the raucous 2015 Corvette Z06.
The numbers frankly speak for themselves. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 summons up an even 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, turning the Z06 into General Motors’ most powerful production car…in the world. The guys at Speed Academy wanted to see just what it takes to craft that high-powered mill, so they hightailed it to GM’s Tonawanda Engine Plant in Buffalo, New York. Take a look.
The good folks of Tonawanda still hand assemble many of the engine’s key components, including the fitting of the pistons, rods, and crankshafts. Robots are recruited to handle much of the intensely detailed machining, and even measure the crankshaft polishing procedure to within eight microns – about the width of a human red blood cell.
It’s truly an astonishingly fastidious process. Not hardcore enough to get a Corvette Z06? Don’t worry, you can still enjoy the LT4 V8 engine underneath the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V as well.