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OHC Corvette?! It is the end of the world as we know it! 
( Oh wait, wasn't the '90s ZR1 OHC?)
Seriously, if they wanted a real winner, they would put the motor behind the drivers head as God intended.
( Oh wait, wasn't the '90s ZR1 OHC?)Seriously, if they wanted a real winner, they would put the motor behind the drivers head as God intended.
It said that remains a possibility. Sounds like they will have several different models available. Maybe Corvette will become its own division of GM?
I would love to see a mid-engine Corvette with a medium sized V8 with forced induction. I don't demand pushrods in my muscle cars. Actually, I think the whole point is they have been bringing the Vette out of the muscle car category for a while now.
A small turbocharged V8 that revs to 10,000rpm will have substantially higher cost than a slower rotating pushrod V8, at the similar power levels. Additional cams, valves, cam drives, turbo(s), intercooler(s) and plumbing are not cheap. It will be interesting to see how GM deals with this added cost while still upgrading the interior and adding other features and refinements.
I see the whole ultra-high rev engine strategy as dubious for a street car. Such an engine will have more of a modern race car feel to it, but remember that race cars generally are forced to achieve high engine speeds due to race rules that limit power by limiting engine displacement. When displacement is limited the whole game is to rev the engine as high as possible, given all the other race rules that try to limit cost and performance. When you hear a race engine screaming, what you are really hearing is the sound of performance constrained.
Just look at what happens when the displacement constraints are removed, such as in the old CAN AM series or with piston/prop air or boat racing. Engines get large and their sizes tend to be determined by the dimensions of the driver/pilot and surrounding equipment. The engine speed tends to be determined by the equation: power=bmep*total piston area*mean piston speed, where the mean piston speed=2*stroke*rpm. Mean piston speeds tend to be limited to about 4500-4800ft/min for high performance production and endurance race engines. This will tend to drive you to lower speed engines for a given engine package size and cylinder configuraton. For high performance at a reasonable cost, the good-old big American pushrod V8 is still hard to beat.
Matt
I see the whole ultra-high rev engine strategy as dubious for a street car. Such an engine will have more of a modern race car feel to it, but remember that race cars generally are forced to achieve high engine speeds due to race rules that limit power by limiting engine displacement. When displacement is limited the whole game is to rev the engine as high as possible, given all the other race rules that try to limit cost and performance. When you hear a race engine screaming, what you are really hearing is the sound of performance constrained.
Just look at what happens when the displacement constraints are removed, such as in the old CAN AM series or with piston/prop air or boat racing. Engines get large and their sizes tend to be determined by the dimensions of the driver/pilot and surrounding equipment. The engine speed tends to be determined by the equation: power=bmep*total piston area*mean piston speed, where the mean piston speed=2*stroke*rpm. Mean piston speeds tend to be limited to about 4500-4800ft/min for high performance production and endurance race engines. This will tend to drive you to lower speed engines for a given engine package size and cylinder configuraton. For high performance at a reasonable cost, the good-old big American pushrod V8 is still hard to beat.
Matt