2027 Chevrolet Corvette takes three TopGear.com US Car Awards with LS6 V8, Grand Sport and ZR1X
TopGear.com has given the 2027 Chevrolet Corvette lineup three US Car Awards: Engine of the Year for the new 6.7-liter LS6 V8, Sports Car of the Year for the Grand Sport and Supercar of the Year for the 1,250-hp ZR1X.
- 535 hp and 520 lb-ft
- 1,250 hp
- 8.675 seconds at 159 mph
- 721 hp
What Happened
For model year 2027 the Chevrolet Corvette gets an all-new 6.7-liter LS6 small-block V8, one of three V8 engines available, and the Grand Sport model has returned alongside the new Grand Sport X. TopGear.com has now recognized the 2027 Corvette lineup with three US Car Awards. The LS6 took Engine of the Year, the Grand Sport took Sports Car of the Year and the ZR1X took Supercar of the Year. GM presents the results as recognition for the work behind the 2027 model-year changes.
- Engine of the Year: the 6.7-liter LS6 small-block V8, the most powerful base engine ever offered in a Corvette at 535 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque
- Sports Car of the Year: the 2027 Corvette Grand Sport, reintroduced for model year 2027
- Supercar of the Year: the 2027 Corvette ZR1X, the model at the top of the lineup
- 535 hp and 520 lb-ft
- 721 hp total
- 1,250 hp total
“This is by no means the wildest engine in the Corvette lineup. But the new 6.7-liter LS6 you'll find amid the 535-horsepower Grand Sport isn't a 'power unit'... it's an entertainer. Allied to the central quad pipe exhaust, it emits the sort of V8 bellow we just don't get from European cars anymore, which makes it not just a fine piece of mechanical engineering, it's a genuinely refreshing debut in the sports car market.”
Reintroduced for model year 2027, the Grand Sport once again combines the daily usability of the Stingray with features from the Z06 and ZR1. Corvette chief engineer Josh Holder calls the Grand Sport the lineup's "sweet spot" and says it has been a winning formula for GM. The LS6 V8 provides the motivation while a track-ready chassis and suspension tackles the curves, and that combination earned TopGear.com's US Sports Car of the Year award. For buyers who want Grand Sport performance with more power and the poise of all-wheel drive, the first-ever 2027 Grand Sport X pairs the LS6 with a front-axle electric motor for 721 horsepower in total, made up of 535 hp from the V8 and 186 hp from the electric drive unit.
The ZR1X sits atop the 2027 lineup with a twin-turbocharged LT7 V8 producing 1,064 horsepower, paired with electrified all-wheel drive for 1,250 horsepower in total, 186 hp of which comes from the electric drive unit. On a prepped surface, a Corvette ZR1X recorded an 8.675-second quarter-mile time at 159 mph, on pump gas, using standard-equipment tires and production 50-state street-legal engine calibration. That 1,250-hp machine carries a 5-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. At the other end of the range, the Corvette Stingray with the 6.7-liter LS6 V8 is capable of 200 mph on the track, and every 2027 Corvette is assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky of U.S. and globally sourced parts.
“A game-changer, a force of nature, and it could take years for its rivals to truly catch up.”
Why this matters
The three awards span the base engine, the mid-range Grand Sport and the top ZR1X, so the recognition covers the whole 2027 Corvette range that buyers choose from. The LS6 is the most powerful base engine ever offered in a Corvette, and the Grand Sport nameplate returns for 2027 alongside the first-ever Grand Sport X. All 2027 Corvettes are assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Terms in This Story
- Small-block V8
- A family of compact V8 engines whose cylinder block is smaller and lighter than a big-block design, historically used to fit V8 power into a wide range of cars.
- Naturally aspirated
- An engine that draws air in using atmospheric pressure alone, without a turbocharger or supercharger forcing extra air into the cylinders.
- Pound-feet
- A unit of torque, the twisting force an engine delivers; it is separate from horsepower, which describes how quickly that work is done.
- Quarter-mile
- A standing-start run over a quarter of a mile, a standard measure used to compare acceleration performance.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.