Corvette ZR1 and its blown LS9 isn’t the only GM car that will be raising the bar in 2009. When Cadillac unveils its supercharged LSA engine for the V, it will be the most powerful production engine in Caddy history, making 550-plus SAE horses, and 550 foot-pounds of torque. The LSA is very similar to the ZR1’s LS9, and utilizes the same 6.2L block and cylinder heads––although the titanium intake valves didn’t make the cut.
The rotating assembly uses a less-exotic forged crank and rods, with hypereutectic 9.1:1 pistons. Nine pounds of boost are built with a 1.9L, 8-rib supercharger, and cooled by an integrated intercooler with better efficiency than the LS9 setup. A similar dual-pressure fuel system utilizes two small pumps to get the job done, and fuel cutoff is at 6200 rpm. The LSA will get performance production touches like boring and honing with deckplates. More to come!