It wasn’t long ago that breaking 200 miles per hour in anything resembling an assembly line car was considered extremely impressive and basically unattainable. For generations of enthusiasts, 200 MPH has been one of those magical automotive benchmarks that’s reserved for exotic supercars and seven-figure hypercars. Well, our friends at Chevrolet just threw that perception right out the window, by making a 200 MPH assembly line car a glorious reality!
Attain 200 MPH
Okay, I know calling the $73K 2027 Corvette Stingray a simple assembly line car is a bit glib. There is nothing basic about America’s favorite sports car, and there is certainly nothing trifling about the brand new LS6 V8 that propelled the car to 200 MPH in a validated top-speed run. A fact that has inspired the marketing folks at GM to claim that the car is “the most attainable 200 MPH capable vehicle currently on sale.”
Of course, the Stingray’s top speed is only part of the story. The latest and greatest Corvette backs that headline up with a 0-60 MPH sprint of just 2.8 seconds, an 11.0-second quarter-mile, and a 124 MPH trap speed. Those are serious performance numbers for what remains the entry point into the Corvette lineup.
All About The LS6
For LS enthusiasts, the biggest reason behind the milestone sits directly behind the driver. As we all probably know by now, the 2027 Stingray is powered by Chevrolet’s new 6.7-liter LS6 V8, which twists stout 13.0:1 compression into 535 horsepower and 520 lb./ft. of torque. The 409 cubic inch mill also marks a return to the Flint, Michigan engine plant, the historic birthplace of Chevrolet’s legendary small-block. According to Small Block Assistant Chief Engineer Mike Kociba, the additional displacement and horsepower provided by the LS6 were exactly what the Stingray needed to eclipse the 200 MPH mark.
That’s all power. The record really shows the strength of the LS6, an engine that we set out to create a unique place in the Corvette lineup. — Mike Kociba, Small Block Assistant Chief Engineer
Interestingly, the Stingray’s advantage isn’t just horsepower. Unlike the marque’s wider-bodied Z06 and ZR1 models, the Stingray’s narrower body creates less aerodynamic drag. Combine that slippery shape with the added output of the LS6, and Chevrolet created the perfect recipe for joining one of the automotive world’s most exclusive clubs. It’s another reminder that top speed isn’t simply about making more horsepower. However, despite its newfound ability to top 200 MPH, the Stingray, by far Chevy’s most livable Corvette, still delivers the low-end torque, everyday drivability, and road-trip comfort enthusiasts have come to expect.
Remember when the ‘Blue Devil’ Corvette ZR1 was introduced back in 2009 and championed as the first production Corvette to break 200 MPH in instrumented tests? Well, now buyers can do the exact same thing in a plain old C8 Stingray! No fancy blower or body panels, and more importantly, no six-figure cost of entry. For those of us who still believe there’s no replacement for displacement, the 2027 Corvette Stingray is proof that the small-block’s greatest chapters are still being written.
You might also like
Fuel For Thought: Sizing Port Fuel Injectors for High-Performance Engines
Size fuel injectors the right way. Learn how BSFC, duty cycle, fuel type, and boost determine injector flow for LS engines.
