08/02/2026
A great American engine.
Ferrari uses dual overhead cams. McLaren uses dual overhead cams. Porsche uses dual overhead cams. Lamborghini uses dual overhead cams. BMW, Mercedes, Aston Martin — all DOHC. Every European supercar manufacturer builds its naturally aspirated V8s with four camshafts, 32 valves, and the kind of valvetrain complexity that makes a service bill look like a mortgage payment. Chevrolet builds the LT2 with one camshaft, 16 pushrods, 16 rocker arms, and two valves per cylinder. Same architecture Ed Cole drew on a napkin in 1954. And the LT2 in the C8 Corvette Stingray makes 495 HP at 6,450 RPM from 6.2 liters, naturally aspirated, on pump gas. No turbo. No supercharger. Pushrods. In a mid-engine supercar that runs with Ferraris and Porsches costing three times as much.
The LT2 is the evolution of the LT1 that debuted in the 2014 C7 Corvette as the centerpiece of GM's Gen V small-block family. Bore: 4.065 inches. Stroke: 3.622 inches. 376 cubic inches (6,162 cc). All-aluminum construction with cast-in iron cylinder liners. Direct injection at 2,175 psi (replacing the port injection of the LS-series). Variable valve timing on intake and exhaust. Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation) on applicable models. Continuously variable oil pump that adjusts pressure based on demand rather than running at maximum pressure all the time. The LT1 made 455 HP in the C7 Corvette and 460 HP in the Camaro SS. The LT2, redesigned for the C8's mid-engine layout, addressed the unique challenges of mounting a pushrod V8 behind the driver: a dry-sump lubrication system to prevent oil starvation under sustained lateral G-forces, redesigned exhaust manifolds to fit the tighter mid-engine packaging, and a revised intake system calibrated for the new engine orientation.
The LT2 makes 495 HP in its latest configuration through cumulative improvements rather than a single dramatic change. Better-flowing intake ports. Revised exhaust manifold geometry that reduces backpressure. An optimized camshaft profile. Higher-flow fuel injectors for the direct injection system. Each improvement added a few horsepower. Together, they pushed a naturally aspirated pushrod V8 past the number that most manufacturers need turbochargers to reach. The C8 Corvette Stingray with the Z51 performance package runs 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. Quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds. Top speed of 194 mph. From a naturally aspirated pushrod V8 with technology from 1955 and engineering from 2025.
GM sells the LT1 as a crate engine through Chevrolet Performance for under $10,000. Four hundred sixty horsepower. Naturally aspirated. Direct injection. Variable valve timing. Complete with engine controller, wiring harness, and exhaust manifolds. Under ten thousand dollars. A Hellcrate Redeye costs $21,807 and makes 807 HP, but it needs a supercharger to get there. The LT1 crate makes 460 HP on air alone. For builders who want a modern, fuel-efficient, computer-controlled V8 with factory reliability and no boost to maintain, the LT1 crate is arguably the best value in the American performance market. The pushrod V8 is 70 years old. It makes 495 HP naturally aspirated. It costs less than the alternatives. It fits in the same space. It weighs less than a DOHC V8 of equal displacement. Ed Cole's architecture isn't surviving. It's thriving.
