Hoods Up! Our Favorite Corvette Engines from Corvettes at Carlisle 2022

Over one million horsepower worth of Corvette engines were at Corvettes at Carlisle 2022. These were the best of the show.  

Over one million horsepower! That is the combined output from all the Corvette engines that attended Corvettes at Carlisle 2022. There were roughly 3,000 Corvettes on display. Figure a conservative 350 horsepower per Corvette and you have over one million combined horsepower. And some of the engines at the show cranked out a lot more than the average. And much of that horsepower was on full display as owners proudly raised their hoods to show off the glorious engines that produce all this power. It was a sight to behold. Now it is time to look back and pick the favorite engines spotted at the event.

As much of a Corvette fan that I am I can’t say that I lifted the hood of every single car at the event. So there very well could be some gems out there that I just didn’t get to. But with even the engines that I did see, it was not easy to narrow down the list. You may very well disagree with some or all of the selections. But that is what makes lists like this so fun. Head on over to the Corvette Forum forums and tells us what your favorite Corvette engine on display was.

C8 Z06 LT6

Starting off the list with one of the newest engines at the show. This is of course the flat-plane crank LT6 that can be found in the middle of the C8 Z06. At 670 horsepower this is currently the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in production. And with the move to smaller engines, turbocharging and of course EVs this might be the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever. This is certainly one of the highlight Corvette engines from the show.

C7 Z06 Custom

The C8 Z06 engine was a stock unit. The one found in this C7 Z06 is anything but stock. On regular pump gas it cranks out 1,060 horsepower and on E-85 1,150 horsepower. This engine is one of the biggest contributors to the total one million horsepower figure at this show. It does it thanks to a custom Paxton 2200R supercharger feeding a forged motor with a custom cam, ported heads and a custom intake manifold. The upgrades don’t stop there. There are Kooks headers and an Akrapovic exhaust among other things. This engine is a beast.

C6 Z06 LS7

The Z06 builds continue. This time in the C6 generation. This is a LS7-427 with LSX intake manifold and valve covers. There is a VARARAM cold air intake, LG long tube headers, and high-flow cats. There are also MSD coils and a custom tune. All this adds up to a healthy 600 horsepower. And it looks great.

Here we have another heavily modified C6 Z06. This is a Katech stage 2/3 motor with a custom Pat G cam. It puts out 640 horsepower at the crank and 565 at the rear wheels. Other details include Katech carbon fiber valve covers, coil relocation kit, and a Cyber Gray (to match the Corvette exterior) LSXR intake. The modifications continue. Cylinder heads, throttle body, rocker arms, intake and exhaust valves, and lifters are all upgraded. This then all flows through Kooks headers. Another lovely engine build that looks as good as it performs.

C7 LT1

Taking a break from the Z06 for a bit. This engine was not selected for its powerful output but for its powerful message. The owner’s son was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease at just 10 years old. Years of treatment took a toll on the young boy. But he still loves Corvettes and Legos. The engine in this car is designed to raise awareness for the disease. But it is also designed to help a young boy who has gone through so much to smile. That is something we can all agree is important. It makes this engine a deserving entry on this list.

Environmentally Friendly LS3

The owner of this car is obviously a big fan (pun intended) of renewable energy and has decided to use wind power on this LS3-powered Corvette. Of course, the wind in this case is provided by a big fat turbocharger. It is a nice upgrade to the LS3 and is a fun tongue-in-cheek take on power adders.

Supercharged C7

Don’t you just drool looking at this thing? Stuffed under the hood of a 2017 C7 Corvette is this little beast. The build includes a ECS supercharger, drop in pistons, comp cams, Frankenstein heads, and a Holley Hi-Ram intake. Oh, and it is straight piped so you should be able to hear it coming from a mile away. This is a beautifully built car that is all business under the hood. A highlight from Corvettes at Carlisle 2022.

Autographed LS2

From wild to mild. This engine is a simple LS2 and might look quite boring compared to the supercharged beast we highlighted previously. But take a closer look. The valve covers have some signatures on them. And they are not just any signatures. You can clearly see that Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter has signed it. As has Lance Miller, the man that runs Corvettes at Carlisle. Pretty cool to see that under the hood. If the owner of this car will be at Carlisle next year and wants a Corvette Forum writer to add to the signature collection just let me know.

C6 with Nitrous

The red LED lights going around the engine bay is what first grabbed my attention. But as I looked closer, I realized that there was a lot more going on. Some of the more obvious changes are the LSXR 102mm intake manifold and the nitrous oxide setup. There were no power numbers available for this build but based on looks alone I would expect some serious numbers. This car was also a Chip’s Champions award winner so how could it not be included here?

1988 Callaway Twin Turbo

Here you see an early Callaway twin-turbo Corvette. The kit was installed on a 1988 C4 generation Corvette. Callaway is still modifying Corvettes today and this engine here is one of their first efforts. This is how Callaway Corvettes started and based on the historical significance this was one of the best Corvette engines on display at Corvettes at Carlisle 2022.

Images: Joe Kucinski

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