"Blue Devil": Supercharged 427 powered SUPER C6, Ford GT Killer

[Saint]

Meet "Blue Devil": http://www.autoweek.com/search/searc...ecord=16<br />


THE 2005 C6 CORVETTE hasn’t even been officially introduced, but the Corvette development team is already hard at work on future, high-performance variants, including a wild 600-plus horsepower Ford GT-fighter known internally as “Blue Devil.”

While chief engineer Dave Hill has publicly announced the Z06 version of the next-gen Vette due in 2005 will have 500 hp, his engine team wasn’t sure until recently that they could actually achieve that impressive figure. Sources now say that it will be a case of “nothing beats cubic inches” with 95 extra horses (compared to today’s 405-hp Z06) coming as a result of boring and stroking the next-gen Chevy small-block V8 to 427 cubic inches—7.0 liters. Not since the late-1960s has that magic number of cubes been under a Corvette’s composite hood (though there were some 454s along the way).

More important, Chevy is clearly investigating an ultra-performance Corvette designed to do battle with—and conquer—the mid-engined GT from rival Ford, as well as many supercars from across the pond. Called Blue Devil (no one knows why it has that name—could it be Chevy hopes to bedevil Ford’s blue oval?), unofficial stats make the name seem appropriate. Reportedly producing 625 hp, Blue Devil’s initial power will come from a supercharged 427 engine—and it will use lightweight carbon fiber for key body parts, reducing weight by several hundred pounds to drop the super C6 to about 2900 pounds.

The price indicated on the internal documents is $100,000 for Blue Devil, if and when it actually makes production in 2006—at the earliest. We wonder whether the Devil’s chances of seeing light are further improved following product czar Bob Lutz’s comments that he’d like to see a Chevy-badged car like the 2002 Cadillac Cien concept.

General Motors officials aren’t connecting the dots and saying this is a “go,” but the high-performance heart of Blue Devil is the kind of specialized, high-content engine project envisioned for the General’s new Performance Build Center set to open shop next year in Wixom, Michigan. The center is intended to attack projects with “a sort of race team mentality,” says Ed Koerner, vice president of GM Powertrain engineering operations.
Patterned after low-volume race shops, the center could build up to 10,000 powerplants per year for very specific, high-end, high-performance GM vehicles. Koerner says engines from the shop should appear in showroom vehicles by 2005.

A SUPER C6 with 625hp at 2900lbs with the 427!!! It already destroys the current Ford GT on paper. The GT will probably be around 600hp by the time it comes out, IF it gets made.

HERE'S to hoping it will be made. It would be so easy for them to do it.

And how about that C6 Z06 with the 427 and 500hp!!!!

[syr74]

Actually, the proposed uber-Vette is actually twin turbocharged, not supercharged. And, the 427ci bit is supposedly more rumour than fact. Apparently the next Z06 will make 500hp, but it will do it with a 6.0L version of the small block, not 7.0L. Although, Chevy says 7.0L can be had from the small block if needed.

Autoweek is a decent rag. But, sometimes you have to "help" these guys as they can be kind of hit and miss. Also, considering that the next Lightning is now essentially known to be making 540hp, and the 06 Mustang Cobra will make more hp than the Lightning since as SVT points out it has always been that way.. Well, I would look for more than 600 ponies out of the GT.

Carrol Shelby, who's shop is now known to be the assembly point of the new GT (previously assembly was thought to be by Saleen or Roush) said with a grin that the GT could easily handle 700hp when asked about future possibilities for the GT. I would suggest people take that as a projection not a guess. And, Ford has been pretty good at keeping their promises since the Cobra hp disaster of a few years back.

I expect Dodge to equip their Viper to do battle with the GT and add a lot more hp and price to their ultimate hardtop version assuming the GT gets that 700hp mentioned before. However, while I think Chevy will indeed add whatever hp they deem necessary to the Vette in an attempt to compete. I have to wonder if it won't be a valiant effort gone awry in a chassis that just cannot keep up with the very purpose built Ford supercar.

[syr74]

BTW, preproduction GT's are said to be dynoing north of 500hp, but that is just speculation. Also, remeber that Chevy has been claiming they were going to build a Vette to out power the Viper for years and it has yet to come to fruition. Remember the "Snake Skinner" Vette from several years back that never happended?

Lutz is better than previous product Czars at GM, but he is not in control of the whole show either. No offense to the Chevy people, but in my experience the General makes lots of promises and keeps very few of them. Recent case in point look at the day late and dollar short Silverado SS.

[Saint]

Here's a quote from Bob himself:

Q:You did the Viper during your stint at Chrysler, and now Neil Hannemann, who led the Viper team, is doing the GT at Ford. Does GM need a Viper/GT class vehicle, or is the Corvette strong enough to handle that role?

A:Let me tell you that the Corvette C6 will have versions where we confidently predict it will suck the doors off of both the cars that you just named. The current Z06, with 400 horsepower, on the Gingerman Raceway, laps faster with its 400 horsepower than the new Viper does with 500. So other than just brutal straightline acceleration, the Z06 is faster today. Clearly the C6 Corvette, without giving anything away, is going to be a major step forward in vehicle mass, dimensions, handling, braking and, most important of all, power-to-weight ratio. So I think whatever gap exists now is going to be eliminated — in total performance. I think we'll match the competition in acceleration, and we will beat them in on-road handling. And if the Z06 version of the C6 is not enough to do it, we've got a few tricks up our sleeve, which we're already investigating. But it will always be Corvette-based.

I really don't think we will ever see 700+hp out of any of the cars mention so far that's from the factory. The new Viper will have around 600hp though, and the Viper and GT already has VERY close performance numbers. But 700hp, and certain people will try to stop that from happening if you know what I mean.

GM HAS to up the C6 and Z06 anyways because Ford is looking to bump up the SVT Cobra to around 550hp or they are rumored to anyways. And even the Mustang GT is to have around 300-350hp.