Corvette LS6 6.7L V8: The Sixth-Generation Small Block, From Flint to Bowling Green

Assembly Alert. Published October 5, 2026. Every figure below is tied to a source listed in the Sources section. Where a manufacturer has not published a number, this article says so instead of guessing.

The hero is an original illustration of a red mid-engine sports car on a highway at dusk, with a sawtooth-roof factory on the horizon. It is an illustration, not a Chevrolet photo.

Seventy-two years after the first Chevrolet Small Block came off a line in Flint, Michigan, General Motors has started over without starting from scratch. The 2027 Corvette Stingray, the new Corvette Grand Sport, and the Grand Sport X all run a new engine GM calls the LS6: a naturally aspirated 6.7-liter V8 rated at 535 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque. GM says it is only the sixth generation of the Small Block in the engine family's history. And it is built in Flint again.

That last fact is the one this piece is built around. The LS6 is assembled at GM's Flint Engine Operations "with US and globally sourced parts," in GM's words, and the cars it goes into are built at GM's Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky. A Michigan engine in a Kentucky car. It is about as American as a drivetrain sentence gets, and every word of it is sourced.

Below: what GM actually published about the LS6, what it changed from the outgoing LT2, how it compares with the Corvette Z06's LT6, Ford's Coyote 5.0 in the Mustang GT and Dark Horse, and Dodge's twin-turbo six in the Charger Scat Pack, what EPA says about fuel economy, and how to check where any particular car was assembled before you sign for it.

Check plant country now on the free homepage VIN checker. The LS6 is a Flint, Michigan engine. The Stingray and Grand Sport are Kentucky cars. Paste the 17-character VIN. AssemblyAlert reads NHTSA vPIC `PlantCountry`. UNITED STATES or USA passes the OBBBA plant test. Puerto Rico does not. The first digit of the VIN is not the test. Neither is the engine plant. Plant-country Pass is not the deduction. This is not tax advice.

You can also paste that VIN in the free checker on this page.

The short version

• Engine: LS6, 6.7 L (409 cu in) V8, naturally aspirated, overhead valve with a cam in the block, two valves per cylinder, port plus direct injection.
• Output: 535 hp at 6,100 rpm and 520 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm, per GM's March 26, 2026 deep dive.
• Bore x stroke: 103.25 mm x 100 mm. Compression 13.0:1. GM calls that the highest compression ratio ever for a Corvette V8.
• Built: engine at Flint Engine Operations in Michigan; Stingray and Grand Sport at Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky, both "with US and globally sourced parts" per GM.
• In: 2027 Corvette Stingray (standard), Grand Sport, and Grand Sport X (with a front electric motor for 721 combined hp).
• EPA: 15 city / 25 highway / 18 combined mpg for the 2027 Corvette; the 2026 LT2 car was 16 / 25 / 19.
• Price: chevrolet.com lists the 2027 Stingray starting at $71,300, retrieved October 5, 2026.

What GM announced, in GM's own words

On March 26, 2026, GM News published a deep dive by Chris Perkins titled "The 2027 Chevrolet Corvette's all-new, next-generation V8." It opens with a line that should be printed on a shop wall: "In its 72-year history, there have only been five generations of Chevrolet Small Block V8. Today, GM is proud to unveil the 6th."

GM's specification list in that piece is short and specific:

• 535 horsepower at 6,100 rpm
• 520 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm
• 6.7-liter displacement
• 13.0:1 compression ratio

GM says the 535 horsepower makes the LS6 "the most powerful base engine ever offered in a Corvette," and that 520 lb-ft is "the highest production torque of a naturally aspirated V8 ever." Those are GM's claims, made in GM's newsroom. They are printed here as claims with an owner.

The same day, GM's Grand Sport release (reproduced on GM Canada's newsroom) filled in the rest: 6.7 L equals 409 cubic inches; the throttle body is 95 mm; the intake is a tunnel-ram design with high-velocity ports; and "a new lubrication system, forged pistons and rods, and revised exhaust manifolds ensure durability in extended high-load, high-temperature environments." The specification table on that page lists an aluminum block with cast-in iron cylinder liners, aluminum cylinder heads, direct and port injection with Active Fuel Management, premium fuel required, and a maximum engine speed of 6,600 rpm. The engine is paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Chevrolet's 2027 Stingray page adds one more hardware line: a new continuously variable oil pump, "optimal oil pressure in all conditions."

What changed from the LT2

The outgoing engine is the 6.2-liter LT2 that powered the 2026 mid-engine Stingray. (Chevrolet says the current Stingray generation was introduced in 2020.) GM's deep dive puts the difference in one sentence: the stroke grows from 92 mm to 100 mm, the bore stays at 103.25 mm, and "just like 100 million-plus Small Blocks before it, the bore spacing ... of the Gen 6 is 4.4 inches."

That is the whole displacement story. Multiply it out and it checks: eight cylinders of a 103.25 mm bore and a 92.0 mm stroke sweep about 6,162 cc, which is the LT2's published 6,162 cc. Stretch the stroke to 100.0 mm and the same arithmetic gives about 6,698 cc, which GM rounds to 6.7 liters. The extra 536 cc comes entirely from the crankshaft throw.

Mike Kociba, GM's assistant chief engineer for the Small Block, told GM News the team almost stopped short: "We were going to make it 'only' 6.6 liters, and then we started playing around and realized that by adding two millimeters to the stroke, we get more performance without compromising anything else."

	2026 LT2 6.2L	2027 LS6 6.7L	Change
Displacement	6.2 L (6,162 cc)	6.7 L (409 cu in)	+0.5 L
Bore x stroke	103.25 x 92.0 mm	103.25 x 100 mm	stroke +8 mm
Bore spacing	4.4 in	4.4 in	same
Compression	11.5:1	13.0:1	+1.5 points
Fuel injection	direct (EPA: SIDI)	port + direct (EPA: SIDI & PFI)	port injection added
Peak horsepower	490 at 6,450 rpm (495 with Z51 performance exhaust)	535 at 6,100 rpm	+45 hp vs base, +40 vs Z51
Peak torque	465 lb-ft at 5,150 rpm (470 with Z51 exhaust)	520 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm	+55 vs base, +50 vs Z51
Throttle body	87 mm (Car and Driver)	95 mm	+8 mm
Max engine speed	6,600 rpm (GM Europe tech data)	6,600 rpm (GM spec table)	same
Stingray coupe dry weight	3,366 lb	3,392 lb	+26 lb
EPA city / hwy / comb	16 / 25 / 19 mpg	15 / 25 / 18 mpg	-1 city, -1 comb

Sources: GM News deep dive and Grand Sport release (March 26, 2026); 2026 and 2027 Corvette order guides (GM documents); chevrolet.com; GM Europe Stingray tech data; Car and Driver (March 26, 2026); fueleconomy.gov. The 6,162 cc and 6,698 cc swept volumes are arithmetic from the published bore and stroke. The weight change is arithmetic from GM's two order guides.

Two details deserve plain reading. First, the torque peak moves down the tach, from 5,150 rpm to 4,600 rpm, while peak power also arrives sooner, at 6,100 rpm instead of 6,450. A longer stroke does that. Second, the Z51 option on the 2026 car bought 5 hp and 5 lb-ft through a performance exhaust. Car and Driver reports there is no separate performance-exhaust power bump on LS6 cars; the 535 / 520 rating is the rating. A center-exit exhaust is available, and Car and Driver reports it does not change the output. GM's Grand Sport release calls it the first center exhaust offered on a pushrod V8 in the eighth-generation Corvette. GM's own pages describe Grand Sport availability two ways: the deep dive calls it standard on the Grand Sport, while the release's spec table lists corner exit as standard with center exit available. Check the window sticker on the actual car.

Inside the heads, as reported

Car and Driver's Dan Edmunds, writing from GM's briefing on March 26, 2026, adds detail GM's own pages do not spell out. He reports the LS6 keeps "a cam-in-block design with rocker arms and two valves per cylinder"; that the stroke-driven rise in piston speed "necessitated a switch to forged pistons and connecting rods"; that new cylinder heads use a two-piece water jacket to cool the regions around the spark plugs and exhaust valves; that the tunnel-ram plenum holds 11.5 liters with 130 mm runners, versus 14.2 liters and 220 mm on the LT2; that a second oil feed to the crankshaft was added; and that "tri-Y" exhaust manifolds return. Those are reported, attributed details, and they are labeled that way here.

Kociba gave Car and Driver the best line in the coverage: "If you'd have said at the beginning that we'd end up with a higher compression ratio than we had in the leaded fuel days, we'd have thought you were crazy." GM's own deep dive names the target they set: beating the 12.5:1 of the 427-cubic-inch L88 big-block of 1967 to 1969, a racing engine that ran on leaded fuel. The LS6 does it at 13.0:1 on unleaded premium, which Kociba credits to "our advanced controls."

A name with three lives, and a number with a song

GM did not pick "LS6" out of a hat. Its deep dive explains that the name first appeared on a 454-cubic-inch version of the Big-Block, then on a 5.7-liter Small Block used in the C5 Corvette Z06 and the original Cadillac CTS-V. Now it marks the sixth generation of the Small Block. Car and Driver adds that GM chose the name because the new engine adopts port fuel injection and is the sixth generation of the Small Block. And do not confuse it with the LT6: MotorTrend notes the Z06's flat-plane-crank 5.5-liter LT6 is a different architecture from the Small Block entirely.

And 409 cubic inches is not just a displacement. GM's own headline in the deep dive is "She's Real Fine, My 409," a nod to the muscle-car-era Chevrolet 409. GM even signs off the section with "Giddy up, giddy up." Car and Driver points out that the big-block 409s of that era never went into a factory Corvette. This one does, and it is a Small Block.

Made in Flint, built in Bowling Green

GM's deep dive gives a date for the start of all of this: "The first-ever Chevy Small Block was made in Flint, Michigan on July 9, 1954, and production of the engine family there continued until 1999." The Grand Sport release says the LS6 returns production "to the city where the first Corvette V8s were built in 1955." GM's footnote on the LS6: "Assembled in Flint, Michigan of US and globally sourced parts."

That first Corvette V8 is still on public display. The Henry Ford's collection lists a 1955 Chevrolet Corvette roadster, made in Saint Louis, Missouri, with a "V-8, overhead valves, 265 cubic inches" rated at "195 at 5000 revolutions per minute," a weight of 2,705 pounds, a price of $2,934, and, for scale, an average 1955 wage of $4,128 a year. The museum's own summary of why that car matters is better than anything a modern copywriter could do: when the V-8 arrived, "the Corvette's go finally matched its show."

Put the two engines side by side and the arithmetic is simple. The 1955 Corvette V8 displaced 265 cubic inches; the 2027 LS6 displaces 409, which is 144 cubic inches, or about 54 percent, more. The horsepower jump from 195 to 535 is real on paper, but the two ratings were published 72 years apart, and the museum page does not say which rating procedure produced the 1955 number. Rating practices have changed since then, so this article does not chart those two horsepower figures as if they were measured the same way.

The cars themselves now come from Kentucky. GM's Grand Sport release says "GM's Bowling Green Assembly will build the Stingray and Grand Sport lineup with US and globally sourced parts." GM Authority, covering the June 8, 2026 start of regular production of the 2027 Corvette, describes Bowling Green as the exclusive production facility for the Corvette since 1981. And Bowling Green is also where GM hand-builds its most exotic V8s: GM News describes a 20,000-square-foot Performance Build Center inside the plant where about 70 master engine builders assemble engines including the Corvette Z06's LT6 by hand, each one finished with a nameplate bearing the builder's name and signature.

That is an American industrial story with names, places, and dates attached. Flint built Small Blocks from 1954 to 1999, and it is building them again. Bowling Green builds the car that wears them. Nobody had to exaggerate any of it.

Engine country is not plant country

Here is the part that matters to anyone financing a new car under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's car-loan interest rules, which the IRS summarizes in Topic 505.

The deduction includes a final-assembly test. The engine plant does not decide it. The badge does not decide it. The first character of the VIN does not decide it. The plant country of final assembly is what the test looks at.

Read this article's comparison table with that in mind:

• Corvette Stingray and Grand Sport: final assembly at Bowling Green Assembly, Kentucky, per GM. Engine from Flint, Michigan.
• Ford Mustang GT and Dark Horse: final assembly at Flat Rock Assembly Plant, Flat Rock, Michigan, per Ford's 2026 Mustang technical specifications.
• Dodge Charger Scat Pack: final assembly at Windsor Assembly Plant, Ontario, Canada, per the Stellantis 2026 Charger SIXPACK specification sheet, which also lists the engine assembly plant as Saltillo Engine Plant, Saltillo, Mexico.

Same class of car, same kind of buyer, three different plant countries for the engine and the vehicle. A great American performance car can still be assembled outside the United States. That is not a knock on the Charger or on the workers in Windsor; it is the fact the deduction cares about.

Check the plant country with the free VIN checker

Use the free homepage VIN checker at assemblyalert.com. You can also paste the VIN in the free checker on this page.

1. Copy the 17-character VIN from the car, the window sticker, or the purchase contract.
2. Paste it into the free homepage VIN checker.
3. Read the plant country on the report.
4. For the OBBBA car-loan interest plant test, UNITED STATES or USA passes.
5. Puerto Rico does not pass that test.
6. The first digit of the VIN is not the test. Neither is the engine plant.

The plant test is one condition among several in the law. This article is not tax advice and does not say any loan, buyer, or car qualifies for a deduction.

How the LS6 stacks up

The comparison below uses each manufacturer's own published figures for 2026 or 2027 American performance cars a Corvette shopper is likely to cross-shop, plus EPA data from fueleconomy.gov. The full table with source URLs for every cell is in the Sources section.

Vehicle	Engine	Hp @ rpm	Lb-ft @ rpm	Bore x stroke	Compression	Weight (lb)	EPA mpg (city/hwy/comb)	Final assembly
2027 Corvette Stingray	LS6 6.7L V8, NA	535 @ 6,100	520 @ 4,600	103.25 x 100 mm	13.0:1	3,392 (dry, coupe)	15 / 25 / 18	Bowling Green, KY, USA
2027 Corvette Grand Sport	LS6 6.7L V8, NA	535 @ 6,100	520 @ 4,600	103.25 x 100 mm	13.0:1	3,520 (dry, coupe)	15 / 23 / 17	Bowling Green, KY, USA
2026 Corvette Stingray	LT2 6.2L V8, NA	490 @ 6,450 (495 Z51)	465 @ 5,150 (470 Z51)	103.25 x 92.0 mm	11.5:1	3,366 (dry, coupe)	16 / 25 / 19	Bowling Green, KY, USA
2027 Corvette Z06	LT6 5.5L flat-plane V8, NA	670 @ 8,400	460 @ 6,300	not in sources used	not in sources used	3,500 (dry, coupe)	12 / 21 / 15	Bowling Green, KY, USA
2026 Mustang GT	5.0L Coyote V8, NA	480 @ 7,150 (486 @ 7,250 active exhaust)	415 @ 4,900 (418)	3.66 x 3.65 in	12.0:1	3,731 manual / 3,766 auto (curb)	16 / 24 / 19 auto	Flat Rock, MI, USA
2026 Mustang Dark Horse	5.0L Coyote V8, NA	500 @ 7,250	418 @ 4,900	3.66 x 3.65 in	12.0:1	3,968 manual / 4,012 auto (curb)	14 / 22 / 17 auto	Flat Rock, MI, USA
2026 Charger Scat Pack	3.0L twin-turbo I6	550 @ 6,200	531 @ 3,500	84 x 90 mm	9.5:1	4,816 (curb)	16 / 23 / 19 AWD	Windsor, ON, Canada

Notes: GM publishes Corvette weights as dry weight in its order guides; Ford and Stellantis publish curb weight. Those are different measures, so do not subtract one from the other. Ford rates the Coyote on premium fuel under SAE J1349; Stellantis lists SAE net. The Z06's rpm figures are from GM's 2026 order guide; chevrolet.com lists the 2027 Z06 at 670 hp with an 8,600 rpm redline. EPA lists the Z06 and the Dark Horse with a Gas Guzzler flag.

What the table says, without spin:

On torque, the LS6 leads every naturally aspirated engine here. 520 lb-ft beats the Z06's 460 and the Coyote's 418. Only the turbocharged Charger six, at 531 lb-ft, is higher, and it reaches that at 3,500 rpm because turbochargers do that. GM's "highest production torque of a naturally aspirated V8 ever" claim is GM's; within this table, it holds.

On horsepower, the LS6 sits between the Mustangs and the specialists. 535 hp beats the Mustang GT and the Dark Horse. It trails the Charger Scat Pack's 550 and the Z06's 670. The Z06 gets its number by spinning a flat-plane crank to 8,400 rpm; the LS6 gets its torque by swinging a longer stroke at 4,600. Two very different American answers from the same Kentucky plant.

On specific output, it is a big-displacement engine. 535 hp from 6.7 liters is about 80 hp per liter, about the same as the LT2's 490 from 6.2, which Car and Driver also notes. The Dark Horse's 500 hp from 5.0 liters works out to 100 hp per liter (computed). Displacement, not rpm, is the LS6's lever.

On fuel economy, it costs a little. GM's deep dive says the team kept fuel economy while improving emissions. EPA's numbers show the 2027 Corvette at 15 city, 25 highway, 18 combined versus the 2026 LT2 car's 16, 25, 19. Highway is unchanged; city and combined each drop 1 mpg. EPA's estimated annual fuel cost rises from $4,350 to $4,550. That is a small price for 45 more horsepower and 55 more lb-ft, but it is a price, and it is printed here.

On weight, it is close to a wash. GM's order guides list the 2027 Stingray coupe at 3,392 lb dry versus 3,366 lb for the 2026 coupe, 26 lb more.

Performance and price, as Chevrolet lists them

Chevrolet's pages, retrieved October 5, 2026, list the following. These are manufacturer claims with available equipment, not independent tests.

	2026 Stingray (LT2)	2027 Stingray (LS6)	2027 Grand Sport (LS6)	2027 Grand Sport X (LS6 + front motor)
Starting price	$70,000	$71,300	$86,300	$110,000
0-60 mph	2.9 s (Z51)	2.8 s (Z51)	2.75 s	2.4 s
Quarter mile	11.2 s	11.0 s at 124 mph	10.95 s at 124 mph	10.4 s at 131 mph
Top track speed	194 mph	200 mph	not listed on the page used	not listed on the page used

Chevrolet's pages fetched for this article do not break out destination charges, so the prices above are the "Starting at" figures as shown.

The Grand Sport X pairs the LS6 with a front-axle electric motor GM rates at 186 hp and 145 lb-ft, from a 1.9 kWh lithium-ion battery, for 721 combined horsepower. EPA lists it at 15 / 24 / 18 mpg.

Charts

The data behind every chart is in the comparison table above.

Bars are peaks. They are not dyno curves, and none of these manufacturers published full curves in the sources used.

Plates

The three plates are blueprint-style schematic illustrations made for this article. They are not GM drawings, and they are labeled that way on each sheet.

Rod length, deck height, and chamber shape are not drawn on Plate 01 because they are not published in the sources used. The bank angle on Plate 02 is deliberately not dimensioned. The silhouette, overhangs, and engine position on Plate 03 are placed by eye and labeled as such.

What GM has not published (in the sources used)

• Dry weight of the LS6 engine itself
• Rod length, deck height, cam specifications, injector pressures, and bank angle
• A full power and torque curve
• Oil capacity and service intervals for the LS6
• Which other GM vehicles get the LS6, and when. GM says only that its architecture upgrades "will soon benefit other V8-powered Chevrolets." Reports naming specific trucks or SUVs are forecasts, not GM announcements, and are not used here.
• The rating procedure behind the 1955 Corvette's 195 hp on The Henry Ford's page

If GM publishes any of these, this article should be updated, not guessed ahead of time.

Frequently asked questions

What engine is in the 2027 Corvette Stingray?

The LS6, a 6.7-liter (409 cubic inch) naturally aspirated V8 that GM calls the first of the sixth-generation Small Block. GM rates it at 535 hp at 6,100 rpm and 520 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm.

Is the LS6 the same as the old LS6 in the C5 Z06?

No. GM says the LS6 name was used before on a 454-cubic-inch Big-Block and on a 5.7-liter Small Block in the C5 Corvette Z06 and the original Cadillac CTS-V. The 2027 engine is a new 6.7-liter design that reuses the name.

How is the LS6 different from the LT2?

Same 103.25 mm bore and 4.4-inch bore spacing, a stroke stretched from 92 to 100 mm, compression raised from 11.5:1 to 13.0:1, port injection added to direct injection, forged pistons and rods, a larger 95 mm throttle body, and a tunnel-ram intake, per GM and Car and Driver.

Where is the LS6 built?

GM says Flint Engine Operations in Flint, Michigan assembles it with US and globally sourced parts. The Stingray and Grand Sport are built at GM's Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky.

What mpg does the 2027 Corvette get?

EPA lists the 2027 Corvette at 15 city, 25 highway, and 18 combined mpg on premium gasoline, and the 2027 Grand Sport at 15, 23, and 17.

Does a Kentucky-built Corvette pass the OBBBA car-loan plant test?

The test looks at the plant country of final assembly. GM says Bowling Green, Kentucky builds the Stingray and Grand Sport, but check the specific car: run its VIN through the free homepage VIN checker and read the plant country. UNITED STATES or USA passes the plant test; Puerto Rico does not. The plant test is not the only condition, and this is not tax advice.

Bottom line

The LS6 is the Small Block doing what it has done for seven decades: more displacement, more torque, the same 4.4-inch bore spacing, and a cam in the block. GM's numbers are 6.7 liters, 409 cubic inches, 535 horsepower at 6,100 rpm, 520 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm, and 13.0:1 compression. It is built in Flint, where the first Small Block was made in 1954, and it goes into a Corvette built in Bowling Green, Kentucky. EPA says it gives up 1 mpg combined to the engine it replaces. GM has not published its weight, its curve, or its service schedule yet, and this article does not invent them.

Before you sign for one, or for anything else, run the 17-character VIN through the free homepage VIN checker. The report shows plant country. UNITED STATES or USA passes the OBBBA car-loan interest plant test. Puerto Rico does not. The first digit of the VIN is not the test, and neither is where the engine was built. This is not tax advice.

Sources

Every figure above is tied to one of these published pages. If a number is not on those pages, it is not a number this article is willing to use.

• GM News, deep dive: The 2027 Chevrolet Corvette's all-new, next-generation V8
• GM Canada, 2027 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, Grand Sport X
• chevrolet.com, 2027 Corvette Stingray
• chevrolet.com, Corvette lineup
• chevrolet.com, 2027 Corvette Grand Sport
• chevrolet.com, 2027 Corvette Z06
• chevrolet.com, 2026 Corvette Stingray
• GM 2026 Corvette Order Guide
• GM 2027 Corvette Order Guide
• GM Europe, Corvette Stingray technical data
• GM News, Corvette ZR1 engine / Performance Build Center
• fueleconomy.gov, 2027 Chevrolet Corvette
• fueleconomy.gov, 2027 Corvette Grand Sport
• fueleconomy.gov, 2027 Corvette Grand Sport X
• fueleconomy.gov, 2027 Corvette Z06
• fueleconomy.gov, 2026 Chevrolet Corvette
• fueleconomy.gov, 2026 Ford Mustang GT automatic
• fueleconomy.gov, 2026 Mustang Dark Horse
• fueleconomy.gov, 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack AWD
• Ford, 2026 Mustang Technical Specifications
• ford.com, 2026 Mustang GT
• ford.com, 2026 Mustang Dark Horse
• Stellantis media, 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack
• Stellantis, 2026 Dodge Charger SIXPACK specifications
• The Henry Ford, 1955 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster
• Car and Driver, GM's Sixth-Generation Small-Block V-8
• MotorTrend, first look, 2027 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
• GM Authority, 2027 Corvette production now under way
• IRS Topic 505, Interest expense
• Plant-country check: free homepage VIN checker

AssemblyAlert is not tax advice and is not affiliated with the IRS, NHTSA, GM, Ford, or Stellantis. Owned by Record of Sale, LLC. This site never says a loan is deductible and never says a reader qualifies.