| You might think that 6 liters was enough | | | | faster safely. |
| to make the Corvette two-seater fast | | | | In fact, titanium used to be an |
| enough, but not for the competition | | | | aerospace-only material because it was |
| department lurking inside GM. They | | | | so expensive, but it is now bein gused |
| wanted to be able to compete | | | | more in exotic cars and the heads of |
| head-to-head with the European supercars | | | | golf clubs, helping the lesser pros feel |
| in the international endurance races for | | | | not so outclassed by Tiger Woods as they |
| sports cars. | | | | might with ordinary drivers. |
| To do so, they took a leaf out of Ford's | | | | You will see that the Corvette 7 liter |
| book. In the 1960s, when Ford found it | | | | is intended for the race track by the |
| could not compete with the smaller | | | | fact that the engine has a dry sump lube |
| Ferraris at Le Mans with the 4.2 | | | | system. A dry sump system prevents the |
| (ex-Indy) or 4.7 liter engines, they | | | | oil in the oil pan from slopping away |
| brought out their 7-liter mill. And it | | | | from the pick-up on fast cornering - the |
| was so much bigger than the competition | | | | sort you can do only on a track - and |
| that they won. So the guys behind the | | | | thus damaging the main bearings. |
| Corvette decided to produce a 7-liter | | | | Instead of staying in the oil pan, the |
| version of America's favorite and most | | | | oil is pumped out to a tank, and then |
| famous sports car. | | | | pressure fed from there directly to the |
| By the way, the 7 liter Corvette more | | | | engine bearings and other critical |
| than competes with the Dodge Viper | | | | areas. Definitely a system for top |
| SRT-10, which could give the standard | | | | supercars. |
| Corvette a bit of a run for its money. | | | | The underpinnings of the car have also |
| Of course, this is not just any old | | | | been beefed up with a new aluminum |
| engine. This is a very special version | | | | perimeter frame which reduces weight. |
| of its GEN IV 7.0 liter V-8. | | | | Further weight reduction comes with a |
| This 2006 Corvette is challenging for | | | | new magnesium engine sub-frame. To |
| muscle car of the year with no less than | | | | ensure the car is stiff enough, it will |
| 500 bhp on tap at 6,200 rpm. Maximum | | | | be available only as a hardtop. The |
| torque from this mammoth engine is 475 | | | | front fenders and wheelarches are now |
| lb ft at 4,800 rpm. This is bound to be | | | | carbon fiber composite panels, which |
| a stunner with a top speed of about 185 | | | | also reduce weight. |
| mph and 0-60 in under 4.0 seconds. GM | | | | But there's more... |
| expects the quarter-mile be under 12 | | | | To get all that power onto the road, and |
| seconds. | | | | to get it to stop, bigger wheels, tires |
| To give durability, the engine has been | | | | and brakes have been fitted. The front |
| beefed up in a number of ways. First, | | | | brake discs are now 13.9 inch diameter, |
| the connecting rods and inlet valves are | | | | and 19×12 inch wide rims are used |
| now made of titanium - these weigh about | | | | at the back; front wheels are |
| half as much as steel ones and are used | | | | 18×9.5 inches. Such massive rear |
| in quite a number of high-performance | | | | tires for a car with 50:50 weight |
| engines. Because of the low weight, the | | | | distribution suggest that the car will |
| titanium parts put less load on other | | | | have a tendency to oversteer - smoky |
| critical parts of the engine – the | | | | drifts could be the order of the day! |
| crankshaft, bearings and in this case | | | | All-in-all, this is a really special |
| the valve gear as well. The titanium | | | | car, developed to compete with the best. |
| valves also allow the engine to rev | | | | |