LS7 Engine to be discontinued ??

[JEFFTATE]

I've heard , through the grapevine , that the Z06 Corvette and LS7 Crate Engine are to be phased out and discontinued.
I'm under the impression that GM will implement this as they use up the current supply of engines and engine components.

The Z06 is to be replaced by the re-born GranSport Corvette , which will feature the wide body and dry sump oil system of the Z06 , but will use a 6.2 liter engine.

Now , My question is : When will all this take place ???
Does anyone know??
I can't get a straight answer from the GM people ( and I work at a GM Dealer).
I thought I might post the question up here and see if anyone had some inside information.



And I don't even know if this rumor is true.

[Memphis]

The Grand Sport is replacing the Z51 package, haven't heard of the Z06 being phased out.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

glad i got my LS7 when i did...

[JEFFTATE]

The Grand Sport is replacing the Z51 package, haven't heard of the Z06 being phased out.

Hmmm , ok..
I got the official bulletin on that .
The GranSport will replace the Z51.
But , I heard that it will also replace the ZO6 ????

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Nooo! My worst non-fiscal fear of the GM collapse was the seemingly imminent termination of the ZR1 and / or Z06. I've been waiting for the posts / threads to start popping up.

As a current Z06 owner (and someone who would really like to purchase a C6 Z06 in a few years), I really hope they don't kill the option.

[Damn True]

Looking for a silver lining in this. Perhaps a Gran-Sport might turn out to be the long-wished for "club-sport" lightweight?

Fewer doo-dads and power gizmos......we can hope.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Looking for a silver lining in this. Perhaps a Gran-Sport might turn out to be the long-wished for "club-sport" lightweight?

Fewer doo-dads and power gizmos......we can hope.

That's what the C5 Z06 started out as; I'm not sure how much of the weight reduction transferred over to the C6 Z06, but the C5s feature less insulation / weather stripping, lighter seats (1-way power [front-back] for drivers seat, manual passenger seat), lighter glass, and less of the doo-dads and power gizmos you mentioned like the abscence of 4 wheel tire pressure sensors and run flats found on the standard cars. C5 Z06 is a little less than 100 lbs lighter than a standard C5 Coupe. Curb Weight is 3,060lbs if my recollection is correct.

It's not as stripped down as, say, old school Vipers with no A/C and all that, but you can definitiely notice that some effort has been put into weight reduction. It's as easy as looking at your soaking wet door jams / trunk after washing the car or driving in the rain.

Desired club-sport weight is what, 2,800 lbs? I'm not sure GM could ever produce something like that as it would require the car to be almost completely barren.

[DB Z28]

Also the big blocks are also gone from GM with the closing of mid size trucks .Mercury Marine is trying to build a new big block which is needed for Stern Drives

[jknight16]

I've been hearing that the LS7 was to be discontinued for a number of years now, due to its cost of production (This makes sense for the Z06 but it doesn't seem to matter as much when you're selling them as crate motors for $13K a piece). I haven't heard any timeline for this, but it would make sense that the Z06 will go when the LS7 does, which I'd imagine could be fairly soon.

As for the Grandsport, it is replacing the Z51 package on the base Corvette, but so far there's been no talk of the Z06' fate. The Grand sport package includes the widebody front and rear body work, Z06 splitter and spoiler, functional brake ducts and cooling, unique sheels, Z06 size (but maybe not spec? don't know...) 6 piston brakes, specific manual transmission ratios, and can be had in a convertible or even with an automatic.

So far I haven't seen them talk about subtracting anything (weight, features, etc.) for the GS, just adding.

Edit: Found this while searching: posted 6/3/09 "At the recent Birthday Bash at the National Corvette Museum, they debuted the 2010 Corvette lineup which included the Coupe, Convertible, Grand Sport, Z06 and ZR1"

[ProdigyCustoms]

Jeff, I have also heard the LS7 is going to be discountiued from a number of my dealer sources. but others seem to come in and dispute that every time I say it. But I heard just a couple days ago from another GM Performance Parts dealer they were going disco.

Let us know what you find out.

[JEFFTATE]

Hmmm,
this is all very interesting.
I'll keep prodding the people at GM.

[JEFFTATE]

I got a message back from a GM Performance Parts Specialist.

Quote:
"I understand they are working on the next version ( direct injected or something ) But the unit we have is set to build thru 2012 as we were told. "