The American Sports Car With 21 V8 Engine Options

We’ve said it many times: The Chevrolet Corvette is arguably the definitive American sports car. Few nameplates in the US, or even around the world, have been able to capture the hearts and souls of millions, much like the Corvette has, does, and will most likely continue to. Its fame was cemented early, back in the mid-1950s, when Chevrolet shoehorned the first V8 into a ‘Vette in 1955.

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Chevrolet

Founded in 1903, Chevrolet is one of America’s oldest remaining legacy automakers. Acquired by General Motors in 1918, Chevrolet is the core GM brand responsible for the bulk of GM’s US sales. As a mass-market manufacturer, Chevrolet competes in multiple key segments, primarily the SUV and truck segments, but also sports cars and mainstream sedans and hatchbacks (until recently). Core models for the brand include the Silverado, Colorado, Suburban, Camaro, and Corvette.

Founded

November 3, 1911

Founder

Louis Chevrolet, Arthur Chevrolet, William C. Durant

Headquarters

Detroit, Michigan, United States of America

Owned By

General Motors

Current CEO

Mary Barra

Once that first eight-pot got a spot underneath a Corvette’s hood, the rest was history. More and more V8 options continued to be offered following that 1955 model year. As a matter of fact, the Corvette V8 frenzy got so rampant that the Corvette’s third generation – the C3 – offered a total of 21 different V8 engines throughout its 14-year run. It’s safe to say that if you were a Corvette fan in the 1970s and wanted a V8, you were spoiled rotten for choice.

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The C3 Was More Than Just Another Corvette

Chevrolet Corvette C3 Key Points

• Offered more than 20 engine options throughout its lifespan
• Introduced in 1968
• Credited with establishing the Corvette in the muscle car arena
• Retired following the 1982 model year

The C3 Corvette came about at a troubled time in American automotive history. It was introduced in 1968, just in time for the golden age of classic muscle cars, which lasted roughly from the mid-1960s until 1973, when a slew of strict, new emissions laws went into effect following the first oil crisis, choking out nearly all the new-found horsepower that was seen in so many engines just a few years before. The Corvette, of course, was not safe from all the new power-sucking emissions equipment.

Interestingly enough, the C3 Corvette wasn’t meant to take on more of a muscular nature. In fact, it was originally going to rival the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, in a sense. If you look at pictures of the C3 Corvette’s rear end, you’ll notice a pair of buttresses and an inset rear window, almost as if an engine is mounted under there. While the C3 ‘Vette is front-engined, of course, it was actually going to sport a mid-mounted engine. That is, before that idea was scrapped by General Motors’ top brass during its design phase.

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So, the C3 Corvette became just another front-engined Chevrolet sports car after the mid-engined idea was axed. However, despite some Chevy designers losing out on the opportunity to build a mid-engined Corvette, they did win out engine-wise in other ways. Throughout its 14-year run, the C3 Corvette offered a whopping 21 engine options, all of which were V8s.

The 21 Engines In Question

Here’s the entire list:

1. 305 CID (5.0L) LG4 V8
2. 327 CID (5.4L) L75 V8
3. 327 CID (5.4L) L79 V8
4. 350 CID (5.7L) Small-Block V8
5. 350 CID (5.7L) L46 V8
6. 350 CID (5.7L) L48 V8
7. 350 CID (5.7L) L81 V8
8. 350 CID (5.7L) L82 V8
9. 350 CID (5.7L) L83 V8
10. 350 CID (5.7L) LT-1 V8
11. 350 CID (5.7L) ZQ3 V8
12. 427 CID (7.0L) L36 V8
13. 427 CID (7.0L) L68 V8
14. 427 CID (7.0L) L71 V8
15. 427 CID (7.0L) L72 V8
16. 427 CID (7.0L) L88 V8
17. 427 CID (7.0L) L89 V8
18. 427 CID (7.0L) ZL1 V8
19. 454 CID (7.4L) LS4 V8
20. 454 CID (7.4L) LS5 V8
21. 454 CID (7.4L) LS6 V8

How The Most-Loved C3 Corvette Made Its Power

While the C3 Corvette is generally well-liked, one model year stands out as the most desirable, at least when it was new. According to numerous sources, Chevrolet sold more C3 Corvettes in 1979 than any other model year. In total, more than 53,800 units were shifted, with 1977 taking second place at 49,213 units. The most powerful engine offered in the 1979 Corvette was the L82 V8.

*Specs courtesy of GM Heritage and Car and Driver archival testing data

In 1979, only two engines were on Chevy’s list of offerings. At base level sat the L48 V8, also a 350-CID mill. At most, the L48 only managed to produce 195 horsepower, or just 8 hp more than what’s found in the base 2025 Hyundai Tucson. The other engine, the L82, featured a few key upgrades over the L48 to help squeeze an extra 30 horses out of it, including a high-flow aluminum intake manifold, large-port cylinder heads, and special piston rings.

As for the rest of the ’79 Corvette lineup, a choice between a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission or a Muncie M21 close-ratio four-speed manual was offered. As for diff ratios, three were offered. Manual-equipped versions received 3.70:1 axle gearing, whereas automatic examples received 3.55:1 as standard with 3.36:1 offered as an option. New for the 1979 model year was a larger “Y” exhaust system featuring a pair of open-flow mufflers.

It Wasn’t The Only American Car With Loads Of Engine Options

Upon the release of the 1964 Pontiac GTO, followed by the Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 shortly after, the American muscle car wars were officially underway. Suddenly, nearly every American brand was rushing to offer some sort of performance-oriented version of their cars. Few American brands were safe from the infectious muscle car bug, and it showed in the sort of models they were offering at the time.

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Because most muscle cars back then were, basically, just powerful versions of normal cars, there needed to be quite a few engines on offer for a single model in order to cater to the normal buyer, and someone who was looking for a little more oomph in their daily-driver sports car. A good example of this would be the Chevrolet Malibu, also known as the Chevelle. At base-level, the Malibu was offered as both a two and four-door model and served as the Chevelle’s base model. The Chevelle was the performance-oriented version, with a host of engine options, and only a two-door body style was on offer. Such was the case with other muscle cars as well; the Oldsmobile 442 followed the Chevelle/Malibu recipe, as the 442 was, in essence, a performance-oriented Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Today’s Corvette Is Quite Different From The Muscle-Bound C3

While the C3 Corvette offered 21 engines in total, today’s C8 ‘Vette only offers three, one of which is a hybrid version of an existing mill.

6.2-Liter LT2 NA V8

The C8 Corvette’s base engine. It sees use in the Corvette Stingray, as well as the Corvette E-Ray hybrid model. In its most basic form, the LT2 V8 produces 490 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. Chevy does offer an option, the NPP Sport Exhaust Package, that gives the LT2 a 5-hp bump. As for the E-Ray, its total power output sits at 655 horsepower and 595 lb-ft of torque when paired with a 1.9-kWh battery pack and a front-mounted electric motor, making it the first-ever series-production Corvette to feature both a hybrid drive and all-wheel drive.

5.5-Liter LT6 NA V8

The LT6 motor marks another first for a Corvette. The engine itself is inspired by Ferrari’s 4.5-liter F136 V8, as General Motors purchased an actual F136 from a wrecked Ferrari 458 in Poland for use as a template for developing the LT6. As for why it’s a first, the LT6 boasts a flat-plane crankshaft, something typically seen in European applications. A flat-plane crank allows for higher revs and more horsepower, but less torque. The LT6 sees use in the C8 Corvette Z06 only. Oh, and it’s also currently the highest-revving American V8 with a redline of 8,500 rpm.

5.5-Liter LT7 Twin-Turbo V8

The LT7 motor is a special piece of engineering. It’s specially designed for the 2025 ZR1 grade, although it has yet to actually hit the streets on a mass-market scale. However, we do know the C8 ZR1 will make a whopping 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. Both of these figures mean the C8 ZR1 is the most powerful series-production Corvette ever produced. The C8 ZR1 will also be the first ‘Vette to feature turbocharging. The sum total of all of that power is a 0-60 mph time of 2.3 seconds and a top speed of 233 mph. In other words, hypercar territory.

Sources: Chevrolet, GM Heritage, CorvSport.com, Hagerty.