GM Moves Performance Build Center to Corvette Plant

AutoInformed.com

Under the guidance of GM’s Rich McBride (right), Rick Hendrick in 2011 builds the engine that will go into his new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition.

GM is moving its Performance Build Center from Michigan to the Bowling Green Assembly Plant where the Chevrolet Corvette is assembled. The center allows customers to build their own specialty engines for installation in GM vehicles. Another part of the unique program – at least in the past  – combined a factory-engineered Chevy aftermarket crate engine that was built by custom car builders and hot rodders.

The Performance Build Center has also been the source for the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 engine, which powers the Corvette Grand Sport Coupe manual version; the 7-liter LS7 V8 engine for the Corvette Z06 and the 6.2-liter Supercharged LS9 engine for the Corvette ZR1. Details on which engines will be available for customer assembly will be announced in the future.

The move, along with a $3.5 million investment, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2014, and is part of a larger consolidation of GM Powertrain engineering sites. This will eventually allow Corvette customers to combine the experience of watching their Corvette being assembled with participating in the build of their vehicle’s high-performance engine.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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