LS1, LS2, LS3……..LS9? Hey what happened to LS4? What you are looking at boys and girls is the newest big dog on the porch AKA the new ZR1 corvette LS9 engine. It is so different that it has earned the right to leap right over a couple of numbers to get to number 9. Never before has the General offered so much technology, both new and old, lumped together this side of a pure race car. Ever.
Some of the technology is derived from GM’s previous alpha dog; the C6 Z06. There are still titanium rods and intake valves, dry-sump lubrication, and of course it's still a pushrod engine. Its when you get to the induction side of things where this engine becomes very different. A new twin-screw, air-to-water intercooled Eaton supercharger provides the necessary boost to generate 100 horses per liter, and does so in a package that's docile, streetable, and warrantiable (is that a word?). One internal departure from the current Z06 is the addition of dished forged pistons to reduce the compression ratio vs. the hyperutectic pistons currently found in the Z06 and the fact that the heads are cast from a different aluminum alloy for strength, and uses larger diameter head bolts to keep them in place.
When loaded into the C6 corvette chassis, GM quotes numbers like: 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, top speed in excess of 200 mph. All this with cold AC, no plug fouling, decent mileage, fresh breath, and driving manners that make your old hot rod seem like something built in the stone age.
Legendary GM engines have always been know by their central order production numbers. L88, LS6, LT1, etc. Well it looks like we have a new one in the LS9. If you have gasoline in your veins, these are the new glory days - performance like this has never been available before. 620 horsepower from the factory? With a warranty? Amazing. With the new CAFE standards, ever-increasing emissions regulations and upward march in oil prices, this might just be the apogee of traditional internal combustion engine performance. Enjoy it while you can.