LS9 crate motor costs more than most cars
Click above for high-res image gallery of the LS9 engine
General Motors did power junkies a solid when it announced at this past year's SEMA show that the famed LS9 engine will be offered as a crate motor. Because the LS9 was designed to live within the tight confines of the Corvette ZR1 engine bay, this engine should fit nicely into all manner of undeserving machinery, a fact that has made our minds reel with endless possibilities.
All that was before we heard the price. As much fun as it would be to drop a ready-made 630-hp supercharged whale-of-a-motor into, say, a Volvo 240 wagon, the $21,000 price tag is a bit of a buzzkill. To put it another way, the LS9 crate motor costs about the same as a base 2010 Ford Mustang. The high price isn't all that shocking, especially considering that Ford charges $17,699 for the 500-horsepower, supercharged 5.4L crate engine that's offered through its Ford Racing Catalog.
As our friends at Autofiends point out, though, anyone with a modicum of experience would be able to eke out even more ponies from a less exotic, standard LS-series engine, which can be had for a song if you're willing to look hard enough. Oh well, like many of the finer things in life, this crate motor is something to be enjoyed by only a limited few with deep pockets.
Gallery: The Chevrolet LS9 V-8
[Source Autofiends]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
casey 5:09PM (2/19/2009)
it might cost more than most cars, but it's better than most cars. i'd say it's among the best engines GM, and the industry as a whole, has ever made in almost every way you can think of. yes, the Caddy V16s of the '30s were mighty impressive and artful, the original 265 smallblock V8 of Chevy is a classic, but this LS9 is up there with the best 3-5 engines of all time.
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Parkerman 5:38PM (2/19/2009)
Are you on crack? One of the best engines of all times? Seriously? So.. GM takes an LS3, adds a SC to increase power...and bam.. one of the best engines of all time...?
Its a nice engine... but def not one of the best of all times.
Franz 5:45PM (2/19/2009)
One of the best American engines of all time, no doubt... and possibly even somewhere on the list of best V8s, but nowhere on my list of all-time great engines. I'm not hating though, because you are entitled to your opinion even if i don't agree with it.
wseroyer 5:48PM (2/19/2009)
ya Push Rods are not all that impressive. you could just pick up a LS3 and add a SC for a lot less. at lest I would think or better yet a turbo kit.
John 6:15PM (2/19/2009)
Can't have an AB article without the "If it has push rods - it sucks" morons chiming in.
Mobius_1 8:57PM (2/19/2009)
How about we don't care how it does what it does, we just care that is does what it does? Damn pushrod haters.
David 9:22PM (2/19/2009)
On the contrary, pushrod technology is quite elegant. Pull one apart sometime, and admire the simplicity. Overhead cam is brute force, up until we finally started seeing designs that do something (i.e. variable lift & timing) beyond that which is so easily done with pushrods.
The upside to the pushrod haters is that they immediately point themselves out as ignorant, so you can filter out their babble.
hokieman09 9:44PM (2/19/2009)
@Parkerman
What do you consider one of the best engines of all time? The small block is a tested and proven engine. Would you people a more complex engine above it?
Jay 5:10PM (2/19/2009)
i wonder how much an LSA will go for?
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Alex 5:11PM (2/19/2009)
@_____@
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Coolio 5:18PM (2/19/2009)
Alex,
What does that mean ?
Thanks
Kattleox 5:50PM (2/19/2009)
Those are googley eyes, formed from even imagining what will, within weeks, be the fastest Miata...IN THE WORLD.
Coolio 8:08PM (2/19/2009)
Oh I get it LOL !!!
RZ 5:12PM (2/19/2009)
Can't wait to see this shoehorned into a Yugo.
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KAIKAI 9:25PM (2/19/2009)
well personally i would put it in a 4-two
xD
bmwboyee 5:20PM (2/19/2009)
can i put this in a K-1 Attack :)
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MachinaDC5 5:21PM (2/19/2009)
I will take three. Here, use my Dubai credit card....
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Elliot 5:23PM (2/19/2009)
I see what you did there
Torrent 5:33PM (2/19/2009)
Very clever.... Very.
wseroyer 5:49PM (2/19/2009)
Does it come in Gold?