Here’s a nice little lockdown project… an engine transplant. Take your old, tired sports car and breathe new life into it by shoehorning in a V8. Like your groceries and Amazon deliveries, you can order it online and the fully assembled lump will be delivered to your door in a crate. “Crate engines” might be primarily an American phenomenon but we reckon Chevrolet’s latest takeaway could tempt even those on this side of the pond…
There’s a new ready‑to‑run Chevrolet V8 crate engine with 570PS
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It's the latest version of the iconic American bent-eight that is the Chevy LS7, as known and loved from US motorsport and road cars like the Corvette and Camaro and lots of others besides. As well as installing the V8 in its own cars, Chevrolet hand-assembles some LS7s, compete with ancillaries, and ships ‘em out in crates to satisfy motorsport teams but also sportscar owners who fancy having a go at the ultimate upgrade. Such people want more power of course but often it is as much to do with gaining the extra reliability such a low-stressed, bulletproof lump like the LS7 offers.
Chevy’s latest crate engine is called the LS427/570. 427 refers to cubic inches – so just the 7.0-litres then – and 570 to the horsepower, or 577PS. Torque, any V8’s major strength, is a solid 732Nm (540lb ft) and both figures represent increases over the regular production engine: 66PS and 95Nm more to be precise.
The biggest change for this new engine, though, is to ditch the dry-sump oiling system and include a new wet-sump that makes installation a darned sight easier than before, there being no longer a need to engineer a separate oil tank and oil lines.
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The engine does get a new, high-lift camshaft but it is still two valves per cylinder and, as by now you will have guessed, there’s not a turbo or supercharger in sight. It is in fact the most powerful naturally-aspirated LS crate engine that Chevy makes. Famous LS7 engine reliability is unlikely to be affected by all this; apart from its race-bred credentials, hot rodders regularly take LS7 power to 1,000PS and more.
The ideal transplant patient for the LS427/570? The small print in Chevy’s press release talks about the engine being “intended for use in vehicles operated exclusively for competition: in racing or organized competition on courses separate from public streets or highways”, but it’s unlikely anyone will pay any attention to that… You want this engine in a road car.
Here are Road & Track magazine’s top 10 candidates for a crate engine transplant. Don’t be too shocked by some of the renowned names on the list. Americans have been transplanting home-grown engines into imported sports cars for decades… They even used to do it to Ferraris!
- Toyota GT86
- Honda S2000
- Mazda MX-5
- Porsche 944
- Ford Ranger pickup
- Jeep Wrangler
- Nissan 240Z
- Jaguar XJS
- Porsche Cayman
- Volvo 240 estate (honest!)
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