This article looks at the milestone achievement that GM recently had where they built their 100 millionth small block engine. The engine will not be placed in a vehicle and instead will soon go on display.
The small block engine was invented in 1955 and since then it has been built into many excellent GMC vehicles over the decades. And now fifty six years later GM has just built its one hundred millionth small block engine. The small block engine has built a legacy of performance and quality like no other and continues to live up to its name today.
The small block engine has been a cornerstone of GMC vehicles and has even been used globally in GM’s vehicles. Ed Cole was the chief engineer when the small block engine was developed, and saw the development of the small block engine come to life. Now his son, David Cole, is the founder and emeritus chairman of the Center for Automotive Research. ‘The small block is the engine that brought high-performance to the people,” said Cole. “There is an elegant simplicity in its design that made it instantly great when new and enables it to thrive almost six decades later.”
The engine that was built to meet this milestone was the six hundred thirty eight horsepower LS9 small block. This engine was hand built to mark the accomplishment, at GM’s Performance Build Center which is located just northwest of Detroit, Michigan. This will be the fourth generation of the small block engine. This is the most powerful engine ever built by GM for a regular vehicle, although this particular engine will not be placed in a vehicle. The milestone engine will be preserved and put on display with the rest of GM’s historical collection.
This engine has proved its worth more than just as a vehicle engine. The engine has been adapted numerous times for various different vehicle needs such as the building of hot rods, trucks and vans. The engine has even been in production for use in marine and industrial applications. And every last one of those engines has brought the legacy one step closer to the one hundred millionth milestone.
Sam Winegarden, the executive director and group global function leader of Executive Engineering was impressed with GM’s small block milestone. “This tremendous achievement celebrates an engineering triumph that has reached around the globe and created an industrial icon,” he said. . “And while the small-block’s enduring design has proven adaptable to meet performance, emissions and refinement challenges over the years, it has more importantly delivered them with greater efficiency.”
The small block engine has evolved over the years and now features all aluminum cylinder block and heads which saves weight, and a lighter car means better fuel economy. The small block also can be used with many different fuel savers. One in particular is the Active Fuel Management system which can shut off some of the engine’s cylinders when the conditions are appropriate, which saves on gas. Another such measure that the engine can be equipped with is camshaft phasing which works to time the way the engine works in just the right way to optimize the engine’s function and gas usage.
“The small-block engine delivers guilt-free performance,” said Winegarden. “It is the quintessential V-8 engine and a living legend that is more relevant than ever.”
Gm has also announced along with the building of this one hundred millionth engine that the fifth generation of small block engine which has been under development will be featuring a new direct-engine combustion system. This new system will greatly increase the efficiency of this new generation as compared to the last one.
“The small-block architecture has continued to prove its relevance in a fast-evolving industry and the fifth-generation engine will build on the performance legacy with a significant advance in efficiency,” said Winegarden.
Now GM will be investing upwards of a billion dollars on the production of more small block engines, which has retained or created one thousand seven hundred and eleven jobs. This new fifth generation small block will likely be released soon and will provide customers with the same reliable performance as always but with great new efficiency changes!
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