Corvette Racing's LS7.R named Race Engine of the Year
Corvette Racing's perennial success continued this season, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as sweeping the driver, manufacturer, and team championships for the American Le Mans Series GT1 class after battling their archrival Prodrive Aston Martin DB9Rs all season long. Now the postseason awards are beginning to pile up as well. Ron Fellows, who co-drives the #3 C6.R with Johnny O'Connell, won his third straight ALMS Driver of the Year award, while his crew chief, Dan Binks was recognized for his efforts and named GT1 Crew Chief of the Year.
And it doesn't end there. This week in Germany, the heart of the C6.R, it's LS7.R motor, was recognized as Global Motorsport Engine of the Year by a jury of 50 race engine engineers. When you consider the breadth of global motorsport and the number of outstanding engines competing on circuits week in and week out, the award becomes even more significant. You don't even need to leave ALMS to find another high-profile powerplant that garnered quite a few headlines of its own this past season.
The C6.R's relentless success and reliability stems largely from the excellence of the LS7.R that lives under its long hood -- a trait that is matched or exceeded by the dedication of its drivers and crew. If history is any indication, we can expect more of the same come March when the 2007 season kicks off at Sebring.
[Source: ALMS]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Flagship 8:06AM (11/13/2006)
Tell me again, Toyota makes the best motors in the world, right? Wrong, GM makes the best, most reliable engines in the world, not just in racing but in it's passenger cars. I know one Buick with a 3800 engine that has over 235,000 miles, and still runs like a top.
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Bert 8:35AM (11/13/2006)
Are there any parts of the LS7.R shared with the LS7 in standard trim? According to the article they share 'the same architecture'. WOW! That's like saying that street tires and race tires are the same because they are black and round.
Hey who can argue with 50 motorsports engineers? Me! If they gave the award to the actual engineering of the engine, yeah, I can see it. Take a long-in-the-tooth design and make better and better. They did and it is.
However if it's for innovation who can't laud the vedi vidi vici TDI in the R10. Yeah we are all tired of seeing it win and yeah the 'lower' classes of Prototype / GT racing needs to be recognised. But it's not like they put a hybrid in there or something.
Hell, instead of the TDI R10 give a shout out to the Lexus team that put a 450H (I think) out to race in a European or Japanese endurance race. Yeah, it was a one race effort, but at least it's innovative.
IMHO alternate fuels / energy recovery and reuse will one day, in racing, be what disk brakes on the D-Type Jags were.
The 3800 is a solid engine, I too have seen them with tons-o-miles. Hey even GM can get lucky every once and a while. But the engine has a relatively low specific output so it should not be hard to get that kind of milage.
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Paul (not the crummy one above) 9:11AM (11/13/2006)
1 - The LS7 and LS7.R is essentially the same engine.
2 - The TDI R10 is a fantastic engine as well and innovative - but this wasnt an innovation contest.
3 - Bert you must know nothing about the 3800 - there are many guys with GTPs and turbo charged V6 F-bodies putting insane amounts of boost through these engines with extremely high mileage with no issues at all. The 3800 is possibly one of the best engines ever made.
GM isnt "lucky" with engines - they have consistently produced some of the best for the past 20 years - all three 3800 series - the ecotech - the northstar - the king of modern engines, the Ls1 - its children in the Ls2 and Ls6. Engine design is GMs strong point... one of their only strong points a few years ago but a strong point none the less. Why do you think you see so many craptastic Buicks around from the mid 80s? It is the 3800 doing it... their interiors may be falling apart but those engines are still 100%
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Jeffrey Smith 9:13AM (11/13/2006)
Ok GM made the "best" racing motor. It seems that they can’t do anything else right. Isn't GM in financial ruins. How important is their racing program if there isn't a company left.
I’m not saying racing is not important but to say GM makes a better motor than Toyota is foolish American pride.
If I'm not mistaken GM is not in Formula 1, which in all honesty the tip top of technology, racing and all things that go fast.
The problem is it’s the American Le Mans Series instead the World Le Mans Series.
Then to my final comment about GM, I would take an Aston Martin any day over a GM.... Did you see that poor guy’s car burn down earlier in the blog, that’s real GM quality for you!
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g 9:28AM (11/13/2006)
And to all the Toyota supporters, what have they done this year in F1? With the biggest budget in F1 you would think they could at least be competitive in the constructors championship.
At lest with the LS7R it does share some of the same parts that the average Joe on the street can go out and buy to put on his car. Block and heads for sure.
Let's see 50 race engineers or morons on autoblog? I am on the engineers side on this one.
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Brandon Gabbard 11:01AM (11/13/2006)
LOL. Yeah I think I'll go with the engineers myself.
Engines have never been the problem at GM. The 4.3 (I believe) V6 they put in the old like 86 Blazers. I saw my aunt and uncle drive that thing all over the country San Diego to New York to Florida to Denver, never changing the oil. We're talking like a 5 year stretch. When I changed the oil it came out in solid chunks. The engine didn't run perfect but with 250k and considering the relentless abuse it went through show me another motor that would still be running.
My 2nd gen 350 LT1 in my 97 T/A with 160k is still running as strong as the day it was new. I'd put it to an endurance test against any Honda, Toyota or Nissan engine out there. As for the body and interior... that fiber glass and plastic will fall apart long before the motor. Anyone who doubts any gen 350 obviously knows nothing about engines. I mean there is a reason they revised this engine over and over throughout the last 40(?) years. Even the most zealot Ford lovers gives those engines their props even though it pains them to do it.
BTW, just so you know I'm not biased I also own a 2000 Acura 3.2TL that dollar for dollar you can't find a better car overall for the money. Personally, Hondas have always been a favorite of mine.
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MikeW 11:16AM (11/13/2006)
The 3800 sucked until series 2.
GM wasn't lucky, they just had and engine with low internal specific loads.
Didn't the orange line start at 4900rpm in 1988?
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Jeffrey Smith 11:23AM (11/13/2006)
A moron I am not, I have a degree in engineering. I have also worked with racing programs around the world including Honda, Toyota and Champ Car Series aerodynamic modeling solutions via computational fluid dynamics.
I’m not a Toyota F1 fan to say the least. I am a Ferrari fan.
But to validate GM engineering through their racing program is foolish. How many engineers on the GM race team work in production division’s of GM, probably none! And yes you are right the “block” and "heads" are the same size but every component in the block such as the “sleeves” and in every part in the entire valve train are not close to what you can buy and afford on a McD's paycheck or even on my paycheck.
Yes I agree that the LS7R official circuit racing motor of the year is the best motor of the year. The group of engineers that had chosen the motor is the reason for me being an aspiring racing engineer.
The comment that GM makes the best most reliable motors in the world serves to express American ignorance.
And using “moron” to describe readers on auto blog is inappropriate and childish.
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cFoo 11:54AM (11/13/2006)
Such a beautiful and proven winner, yet GM is just too moronic to market its branding properly to push the Corvette into the the elite where it belongs. The only reason buyers will overlook the Corvette is because it's a GM. I don't blame them.
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g 12:21PM (11/13/2006)
I still how people like to correlate ones companies financial situation to how they can't do anything else right. Like no other manufacturer out there have ever operated in the red? Mind you it is all cyclical, I remember back in the 90s the Japanese with the weak yen were stuggling and losing money too. Oh my how many of us forget that. Truth is that GM, Ford or any of the other major automakers are not going anywhere.
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Wilhelmina J. Higginbotham 1:34PM (11/13/2006)
cFoo,
The Corvette is not for insecure posers! SORRY!
Those who buy the Corvette will continue to do so like they have for about 50 years.
Put that in your fake elitist pipe and smoke it!
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Mr_Oak 2:02PM (11/13/2006)
LS1 and it's various offspring.
Vortec 4.2 I6
NorthStar 4.*
3800 V6
The Awesome 1987 GNX produces 275hp and 360ft lb of torque and was capable of mid 13 second runs in factory trim. This was also based on the 3800. The car was a barn, but a barn that commanded the respect of all the imports.
Personally I love I6 engines, I sincerely believe the vortec 4.2 is the most underrated engine in the GM parts bin. BTW these are currently also powering Isuzu's top of the line SUVs
---> #4 wrote: If I'm not mistaken GM is not in Formula 1, which in all honesty the tip top of technology, racing and all things that go fast.
How many cars does Manardi sell each year? they're in F1. F1 is a senseless way to piss away a lot of cash, Ask BMW, Toyota, Ford and Mercedes.
Honda in the 90s, Ferrari & Renault since then with MB and BMW showing brief flashes.
"The problem is it’s the American Le Mans Series instead the World Le Mans Series."
Idiotic statement, ALMS is so called because the rules are the same as LeMans, as the European LeMans series. They all ge together on the 2nd Saturday in June avery year, and guess who wins?
Also, most of the premier\world class drivers choose the ALMS over the ELMS, Why? Better venues, better tracks, better racing.
....And to settle the Aston Martin\Corvette once and for all, did you know that the 'vettes are saddled with 200lbs of ballast, just so that AM could try to make a race of it?
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Mr_Oak 2:17PM (11/13/2006)
9. Such a beautiful and proven winner, yet GM is just too moronic to market its branding properly to push the Corvette into the the elite where it belongs. The only reason buyers will overlook the Corvette is because it's a GM. I don't blame them.
Maybe they'd rather stay loyal to their customer base, and not isolate the car for the snooty uppercrust.
'Vettes are quite common around here, and the smarter Porsche, BMW and Ferrari drivers know not to mess with them. Then comes the Z06. I think that it's pretty elite when these yokels in their 6 figure mega-buck machines bow down, tips their hats, nods approval or just get the hell out of the way of a Z06 when it rolls through. If you ask me, that's better than elite, that's bad-ass.
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Johnny 2:26PM (11/13/2006)
"Maybe they'd rather stay loyal to their customer base, and not isolate the car for the snooty uppercrust."
Totally. Never mess with the redneck population!
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Mr_Oak 2:45PM (11/13/2006)
Totally. Never mess with the redneck population!
Didn't know that there were that many rednecks in europe. I see an awful lot of 'vettes at port Newark heading to europe, wonder what that's all about.
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Andy 3:51PM (11/13/2006)
The GM LS series of engines have been class-leaders. It's no surprise the LS7-R earned this honor.
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chewy 8:09PM (11/13/2006)
Audis 650+ hp and 811+ lb-ft 5.5 liter V12 TDI for the R10 is much more impressive.
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timehead 12:00AM (9/01/2007)
If you turbo charge the LS7.R motor, it would produce almost the exact same hp as the TDI motor.
Morrinn 9:31AM (11/14/2006)
Now the Audi diesel is certainly a very cool motor, no doubt about that, but the power output isn't really all THAT special.
Any chump with change for a decent computer chip can get that much from the 5.9 liter I6 Cummins in heavy duty Dodge Ram... Or any modern heavy-duty pickup's for that matter. Well the 650hp might take more doing than the torque figure but the racing engine has a bit of a rev advantage on those old school brutes =)
You can definitely count me in as an admirer of the Audi, but the bi-turbos make any output comparison between it and the LS7.R a bit pointless. Give a good racing team a turbo and power will soon follow, diesel or not.
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Ryan 2:33PM (11/15/2006)
It is amazing to see how "cool" it has become to hate anything domestic these days. Even when presented with the ultimate award after annihilating everyone in a perfect season in LeMans, credit is STILL not given where credit is due.
The GM smallblock has proven itself time and time again. In it's latest and most current rendition in the C6 Z06, it flat out molests anything within $100k to 500 thousand dollars of it, and still, GM does not get the credit they deserve.
If you're reading this and getting pissed, it's not because I'm a Pro American moron, it's because you are blind to the objective truth that is displayed in that article. 50 top engineers said that the LS7.R was better than anything else this season, and that was proven with unbeatable performance. So many internet tough guys roaming around blind to this simple fact. Had this article been about a Toyota, I'm sure most of you would be marveling at their "excellence".
They sure make nice transportation appliances. They killed any and all of the sports cars that had anything going for them.
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