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LS7: The Largest, Most Powerful Small-Block Ever Built

505 horsepower / 475 lb.-ft. torque
* Racing technology transfer takes production engine performance to new heights
* Racing-derived CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads
* Each engine assembled by hand by a single, specially-trained builder

GM Powertrain, using valuable data gleaned from the factory-sponsored Corvette C5R racing program, developed the LS7 with many competition-derived components and design features. It takes production small-block performance to an unprecedented level while demonstrating the continuing adaptability of the engine's compact, cam-in-block design. It is, quite simply, the largest, most powerful production small-block V-8 GM has ever produced. The LS7 displaces 7.0 liters - 427 cubic inches - and is standard equipment in the 2006 Corvette Z06. It is identified by red engine covers and is based on the new Gen IV small-block architecture.

Unlike the previous Corvette Z06 engine, the LS7 has a separate and distinct engine block casting and reciprocating assembly than the base Corvette engine. And when compared to the LS2, it has a different front cover, oil pan, exhaust manifolds and cylinder heads. The unique block accommodates large-displacement cylinders, while other components make use of racing-derived lightweight components to help boost horsepower and rpm capability.

The LS7's specifications are significant for a production engine:
* 505 horsepower @ 6200 rpm
* 475 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4800 rpm
* 7000-rpm redline
* Unique engine block with larger 104.8-mm (4.125-inch) bores and pressed-in cylinder liners
* Forged steel crankshaft with 101.6-mm (4-inch) stroke
* Titanium connecting rods * Cast aluminum flat-top pistons
* Racing-derived CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads with titanium intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves
* Dry-sump oiling system
* 11.0:1 compression ratio
* Camshaft with 15-mm (.591-inch) lift
* Hydroformed exhaust headers with unique "quad flow" collector flanges.

All LS7 engines are assembled by hand at GM's new Performance Build Center in Wixom , Mich. The exacting standards to which they are built include deck-plate boring and honing of the cylinders and even crank line-boring of the block with the deck plates and side bolts installed - procedures normally associated with the building of racing engines and almost unheard of in a production-vehicle engine.

"In many ways, the LS7 is a racing engine in a street car," said Dave Muscaro, assistant chief engineer of small-block V-8 for passenger cars. "We've taken much of what we've learned over the years from the 7.0-liter C5R racing program and instilled it here. There really has been nothing else like it offered in a GM production vehicle

." Indeed, the LS7's engineers spent as much time at racetracks as they did at engine dynamometers. Everything from the cylinder heads to the unique dry-sump oiling system has a direct line back to the racing program. But while the LS7 has racing roots, it delivers its performance with uncompromising smoothness and tractability - qualities that make the Corvette Z06 a daily-drivable supercar.

Factory performance figures for the 405 hp (302 kW) version of the Z06 give an acceleration time from 0-60 mph as 3.9 seconds. The Z06 is capable of matching or besting the 0-60 mph acceleration times of some of the world's premier sports cars, including the BMW Z8, Ferrari 360, and Porsche 911 Turbo (Type 996).

To give the Zonda F more power, a new induction system is used which replaces the standard Mercedes-Benz unit. It features larger intake apertures and, when combined with a larger, hydroformed exhaust, the 7.3 liter Mercedes-Benz engine reaches 620 bhp. This is up from 550 achieved with the standard Mercedes intake. A clubsport model is available as an option which increases power to 650 bhp @ 6200 rpm.