The Chevrolet Silverado will reportedly receive a new sixth-generation V8 petrol engine, but the larger 6.7-litre version will be reserved for the latest Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport.
According to GM Authority, General Motors’ next-generation ‘LS’ V8 engine family will be deployed in Chevrolet’s full-size pickup model line in 6.6-litre form, contrary to earlier speculation that the Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Toyota Tundra rival would adopt the new Grand Sport’s 6.7-litre unit.
Official confirmation has yet to come from GM, and GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) was unable to confirm details for Australia or New Zealand.
The 6.7-litre V8 was announced for the track-focused Corvette Grand Sport last month, producing 393kW of power and 705Nm of torque – making it the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever fitted to a production Corvette.
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The outputs are also well above those of the most powerful petrol V8-equipped Silverado currently sold in Australia, with the 6.2-litre ZR2 producing 313kW and 624Nm. The Silverado HD’s 6.6-litre turbo-diesel V8, meanwhile, delivers 350kW and 1332Nm.
The new 6.7-litre V8 has also been confirmed to replace the current LT2 6.2-litre unit in the entry-level Corvette Stingray – which is related to the L87 V8 used in the Silverado – fuelling speculation that it would be adopted for GM’s pickup range.
However, GM engineers are said to have originally planned a 6.6-litre engine for both sports car and truck applications, before increasing capacity for the Corvette during development.
“We were going to make it ‘only’ 6.6 litres, and then we started playing around and realised that by adding two millimetres to the stroke, we get more performance without compromising anything else,” a GM engineer reportedly told GM Authority.
With the standard crankshaft, the sixth-generation LS V8 displaces 6.6 litres and is expected to power both the Silverado and the GMC Sierra, which is not sold in Australia.
The Silverado remains the only V8-powered full-size US pickup on sale locally, after Ram dropped V8 power from its lineup in 2025, while Ford and Toyota offer only turbocharged petrol V6 versions of the F-150 and Tundra in Australia.
In May 2025, GM announced a US$888 million (A$1.4 billion at the time) investment in its Tonawanda Propulsion plant in Buffalo, New York, to produce the new V8 engines from 2027.
The development follows a recall affecting the current L87 V8 used in the Silverado and other GM models, impacting 9451 pickups in Australia and around 721,000 globally.