The Chevrolet Gemini small-block engine is a dual-overhead cam (DOHC)
V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
designed by
General Motors. While technically a small-block engine due to its bore spacing of 4.4 inches,
[,] General Motors engineers don't consider it to be a part of the traditional Chevrolet small block lineage because of the substantial reworking, specialized development, and unique technical features distinguishing its design.
The LT6 is a clean-sheet design, mechanically unrelated to both the
LS-based engines and the
Cadillac Blackwing V8. Its most notable traits include a flat-plane crankshaft and
dual-overhead camshafts, which represents a departure from the traditional
pushrod valves and
crossplane crankshafts found in all previous generations of Chevrolet small-block engines. As of October 2022, the Gemini engine has only one variant, dubbed LT6. Though nothing has been formally announced, there are rumors a
twin-turbo
Twin-turbo (not to be confused with a twincharger setup, which is a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger) refers to an engine in which two turbochargers work in tandem to compress the intake fuel/air mixture (or intake air, in the cas ...
variant is in the works. This engine, to be known as the LT7 if it comes to fruition, would power upcoming ZR1 and Zora versions of the C8 Corvette.
LT6
The LT6 is a 5.5-liter,
naturally-aspirated V8 engine. It debuted in the
eighth-generation Corvette Z06, and was unveiled on October 26, 2021.
While the LT6 features a redline of 8,600 RPM, it generates a maximum of at 8,400 rpm and of torque at 6,300 RPM. These figures make it the most powerful naturally-aspirated production V8 engine of all time; the engine to previously hold this title, the
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series M159 6.2-liter V8'','' made at 7,400 RPM.
The LT6 is also the largest flat-plane V8 used in a production car by displacement, dethroning the
Ford Voodoo. This is notable due to the additional vibrations inherent to this architecture compared to a crossplane V8, which tend to scale up with displacement.
A modified version of the LT6 has powered the
C8.R since 2019, and many features in the racing engine carry over to the road engine.
Other notable LT6 features include a cast aluminum block, dual coil valve springs supporting titanium intake & sodium filled exhaust valves, forged aluminum pistons, forged titanium connecting rods, active split intake manifold with twin 87mm throttle bodies, four-into-two-into-one stainless steel exhaust headers, and a factory six-stage 10-
quart
The quart (symbol: qt) is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly e ...
dry sump oiling system with individual crank bay scavenging.
Applications:
See also
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Chevrolet small-block engine Chevrolet small-block engine refers to one of a number of gasoline-powered vehicle engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential en ...
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General Motors LS-based small-block engine
"LS engine" is the colloquial name given to the third and fourth generation small-block V8 gasoline engine used in General Motors' vehicles. The name evolved from the need to differentiate the Gen 3/Gen 4 small blocks from the original Gen ...
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List of GM engines
This list of GM engines encompasses all engines manufactured by General Motors and used in their cars.
Divisions
When General Motors was created in 1908, it started out with Buick and soon after acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland. There w ...
References
{{General Motors
Chevrolet engines
V8 engines
Gasoline engines by model
Engines by model