• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Cars that make your jaw drop.

JesasaurusRex said:
You really think that's why the bore space is still 4.4?
Click to expand...

Almost three decades ago, when the ZR-1 was in development, GM owned Lotus. Lotus was tapped to engineer the new high tech powerplant for the ZR-1. Why they didn't keep it in country and just use the GM Powertrain division will be a mystery. Then they tapped Mercury Marine to build it for them too. Anyways, the GM brass had several design parameters that had to be adhered to. Must be overhead cam, must output at least X horsepower, must not be any less efficient than current small block (at the time it was decreed that no GM vehicle would be subject to gas guzzler tax), and must have 4.4" bore centers so they could still call it a "small block" Chevy V8.

Lotus came back and said, yeah we can totally give you the power and the fuel efficiency...and even more if you want...just let us use different bore spacing (they wanted to use fatter pistons and go oversquare I assume). At that time it was good ol' Roger Smith in the big chair at GM that told them a big fat no because it wouldn't sell since traditions mattered.

Nowadays we're on the GenV small block. It's not a Chevy small block anymore, it's simply the small block. But they still use those 4.4" centers. I think the traditionalists are all gone out of GM. For years, thy also had a standing policy that no other GM vehicle will make as much power as the Corvette. This is why the LT1 F-Body was rated at 285(?)hp while the Corvette got the full 300 even though we know full well they dynoed almost identical. But now we have a 650hp Camaro and a 650hp Corvette.

The upcoming DOHC engine for the super duper Corvette is supposed to be 6.2L just like the existing GenV small block, which leads me to believe it's still 4.4" centers. So maybe there's more to it than tradition and Lotus was just stupid?
 
Last edited:
TheRobSJ said:
Almost three decades ago, when the ZR-1 was in development, GM owned Lotus. Lotus was tapped to engineer the new high tech powerplant for the ZR-1. Why they didn't keep it in country and just use the GM Powertrain division will be a mystery. Then they tapped Mercury Marine to build it for them too. Anyways, the GM brass had several design parameters that had to be adhered to. Must be overhead cam, must output at least X horsepower, must not be any less efficient than current small block (at the time it was decreed that no GM vehicle would be subject to gas guzzler tax), and must have 4.4" bore centers so they could still call it a "small block" Chevy V8.

Lotus came back and said, yeah we can totally give you the power and the fuel efficiency...and even more if you want...just let us use different bore spacing (they wanted to use fatter pistons and go oversquare I assume). At that time it was good ol' Roger Smith in the big chair at GM that told them a big fat no because it wouldn't sell since traditions mattered.

Nowadays we're on the GenV small block. It's not a Chevy small block anymore, it's simply the small block. But they still use those 4.4" centers. I think the traditionalists are all gone out of GM. For years, thy also had a standing policy that no other GM vehicle will make as much power as the Corvette. This is why the LT1 F-Body was rated at 285(?)hp while the Corvette got the full 300 even though we know full well they dynoed almost identical. But now we have a 650hp Camaro and a 650hp Corvette.

The upcoming DOHC engine for the super duper Corvette is supposed to be 6.2L just like the existing GenV small block, which leads me to believe it's still 4.4" centers. So maybe there's more to it than tradition and Lotus was just stupid?
Click to expand...
Seems silly, as you know theyve had 4.5" small blocks for a while and even 4.6" . Actually a big reason i went bbc this time around, unfortunately the exotic bore spacing is still stupid expensive. Wish i looked into the 5.0" bore space stuff a bit more before i spent the money i did, it's apparently come down a bit in build cost.

The irony about the purist thing is getting rid of the solid axle in the camaro. Bet way more people cared about that than the motor.
 
saw this wagon at the Rolex Reunion
v2
 
Dubbington said:
They make a marine ready engine that's out of the box 1,750hp :wow It also costs $200,000.

They also make a small block corvette like crate motor for $28k that puts out 750hp. That's damn good!
Click to expand...

Go look at what you can do with a turbo LS motor for that or much $ or less.
 
Mike95060 said:
Go look at what you can do with a turbo LS motor for that or much $ or less.
Click to expand...

28K for 750hp....that better be some well tuned and reliable HP for that kind of money.

Seems like 750 crank hp should be well within reach with a power adder(s) as suggested above. All at a lot less than 28 large.

Jessyrex probably has a Bowtie lawnmower he got at a garage sale up on blocks in his front yard for $50 that makes that kind of power.
 
Sharky said:
28K for 750hp....that better be some well tuned and reliable HP for that kind of money.

Seems like 750 crank hp should be well within reach with a power adder(s) as suggested above. All at a lot less than 28 large.

Jessyrex probably has a Bowtie lawnmower he got at a garage sale up on blocks in his front yard for $50 that makes that kind of power.
Click to expand...

:laughing

Yeah...I have a buddy who spent about $50k through several iterations of engine upgrades, and even then he hasn't been down in the 700s for quite a while. Last I heard before he sold the car it was 1200+.
 
yelow748 said:
saw this wagon at the Rolex Reunion
v2
Click to expand...


Yup, one-off built for Griot's. E30 wagon chassis, they got rid of the front and rear doors, stretched new front doors 9 inches, and then they V8ed that mofo with an M60, not to mention coilovers and big brakes. M60 was the same engine that was in my 740i, I'll be that thing is a hoonmobile!
 
:banana
 

Attachments

  • 21316306_10156331696749237_1067656468299441759_o.jpg
    21316306_10156331696749237_1067656468299441759_o.jpg
    126.9 KB · Views: 70
Ladies & gentlemen, the new Nissan Leaf:

nissan-leaf-2018-2.jpg


Not jaw dropping, but looks better than the old one.

I expect to see some new stuff as the Frankfurt Auto show starts up soon.
 
Certainly not jaw dropping but at 150 miles and less than $30,000 BEFORE incentives, it should do well and spur more low cost EVs.
 
The new Leaf looks ten times better. Someone in the design department at Nissan earned an attaboy. The first in a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top