G.M.’s Do-It-Yourself Corvette Engine

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G.M.’s Do-It-Yourself Corvette Engine
By PAUL STENQUIST
Many of us did it back in the day. Some of us did it more than once and have the scarred knuckles to prove it.


John F. Martin for Chevrolet
Rich McBride, an engine builder at the General Motors Performance Build Center.
Now, those who missed out on the fun of building a power plant have a chance to make good — providing, of course, that their pockets are sufficiently deep. For an extra $5,800, buyers of a Corvette Z06 or ZR1 can assemble their car’s engine.

There was a time when building your own engine was essential to earning your stripes as a car enthusiast. But unless you were a true expert, you could end up with a few leftover parts, adding significantly to the pain of those banged-up knuckles. Corvette buyers who opt for the new build-your-own option won’t have to worry about leaving a part out, because a General Motors technician will supervise the procedure at the Performance Build Center in Wixom, Mich.

Travel to Michigan will be at the customer’s expense, but a G.M. concierge will help coordinate arrangements and local transportation.

“Corvette owners are some of the most passionate — and most involved — enthusiasts in the industry,” Jim Campbell, vice president of Chevrolet marketing in the United States, said on Monday. “The Corvette engine build experience offers customers an unprecedented opportunity to participate, hands on, in creating the car.”

This unusual level of customer involvement is possible because both the Z06’s 7-liter engine and the ZR1’s 6.2-liter supercharged engine are assembled by hand.

The personalized engines will be installed in the customer’s car at the Corvette assembly plant and come with an owner nameplate. So while build-your-own Corvette owners won’t experience the joy of working in a frigid garage under a single light bulb in the dead of winter, they will eventually get to hear the engine they assembled fire up. For many gearheads, that’s a thrill not easily matched.

Those who are afraid that they might make a mistake even when working with the supervising engine guru can rest assured: The build-your-own engines are covered by Chevrolet’s five-year/100,000-mile transferable powertrain warranty.