Chevrolet's LS7 Crate V8 Is Officially Dead

Pushrod fans, prepare to shed a tear - Chevrolet‘s LS7 crate V8 is no more. As spotted late last week by an observant Redditor, the 7.0-litre brute had been marked ‘discontinued’ on Chevy’s website, along with the cheaper LS427/570 version. Road & Track pinged Chevrolet’s PR team, which confirmed the bad news.

The company will be fulfilling all existing orders, which will clear out the remaining stock. No reason for the engines’ culling seems to have been given.

In a production setting, General Motors used the LS7 in the C6 Corvette Z06, the fifth-generation Camaro Z/28 and the Holden HSV W427. The all-aluminium engine features titanium con-rods and intake valves and is good for 505bhp. After the death of the cars that adopted the powerplant, it lived on as a popular crate engine. It also formed the basis of the ‘Fury’ V8 powering Hennessey’s Venom F5.

About a year and a half ago the LS427/570 (above) came along as a less complicated take on the LS7 that swapped dry-sump lubrication for an easier-to-package wet sump setup. It’s even more powerful at 562bhp and looked set to be the LS7’s replacement in the long term. It’s a surprise, then, to see it ditched too, and so quickly after launch.

It’s not like the demise of these two lumps leaves Chevrolet with a lack of crate options, however. The company’s line-up remains expansive, and new products are still added from time to time. It wasn’t that long ago, for instance, that Chevrolet revealed its most ridiculous aftermarket engine yet, the ‘ZZ632/1000’. It displaces 10.35 litres and is good for a monstrous 1000bhp.