Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Videos, Chevrolet, Racing
The Chevrolet Corvettes that do battle in the American LeMans Series are, at first glance, acres removed from their street-dwelling cousins. Beneath the skin, though, the two cars are more similar than you might think, given their differing purposes.
For starters, Chevrolet uses similar engine architecture for both cars. The ALMS Vettes use the exact same block that goes into the Corvette Z06. That’s where the similarities end. The racing engine is limited to two 28-mm air intakes in a bid to level the GT Class playing field. The ALMS engines are also limited to 5.5 liters of displacement, versus the production car’s 7.0 liters.
Though the means may be different, the end is the same: maximized power and efficiency. Chevrolet develops and builds its racing engines in-house, to try and insure that some of the technology that goes into its endurance racers makes it into its street cars. To hear Chevrolet tell it, check out the video after the jump.
[Source: YouTube]
Continue reading Video: How the Chevy Corvette ALMS engines are built
Video: How the Chevy Corvette ALMS engines are built originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading “Video: How the Chevy Corvette ALMS engines are built”
Mazda isn’t the only company out there working on the next-generation rotary engine. According to China Car Times, Chery is also dabbling in Wankel technology. The company isn’t so much interested in bringing non-piston love to The People’s Republic so much as they are finding a more efficient way to charge the batteries in an extended-range EV. If CCT’s intelligence is accurate, the plan is to use an 800cc Wankel as a sort of internal-combustion lifeline so that if an electric car’s batteries go dead the driver won’t be walking home. The strategy is in line with what we’ve seen from the Chevrolet Volt.