[VIDEO] C8 Corvette ZR1 Featured in New MotorTrend Documentary About the American V8 Engine

By
Alex Sommers
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[VIDEO] C8 Corvette ZR1 and Z06 Featured in New MotorTrend Documentary About the American V8 Engine


If you were to tell the story of motoring in America, the V8 engine would be the de facto main character. Eight thundering cylinders are at the heart of almost every vehicle with a cult following in this country: Corvette, Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Cobra, all motivated by bent-eights and beloved by the working-class heart and soul of our great nation!

In an interesting turn of events, Motor Trend took a break from gaslighting everyone on EVs to produce some star-studded content that actually appeals to car enthusiasts! Last week, the California-based publication pulled the cover off of a 30-minute documentary dubbed “V8: The Engine of America,” and it is, in a word, outstanding!

When we say star-studded, we bean it in both automotive and human capital. Come for the glorious LT6 redlining in the kickoff montage, stay for the entertaining and educational anecdotes from the likes of Jay Leno, Chris Farley’s CEO cousin, and our guy Tadge Juechter, amongst others!

[VIDEO] C8 Corvette ZR1 and Z06 Featured in New MotorTrend Documentary About the American V8 Engine


After the opening hook that also features a roaring Escalade V – with its 682-horse LT4/LT5 hybrid – this MT joint comes out swinging by loosening up its A-list guests with a question out of left field; “can we hear your best impression of a V8?” What follows is a fun way to get the ball rolling that Tadge masterfully dodges like Indiana Jones at the start of Raiders.

After that, it’s all captivating history, stunning visuals, the soundtrack of America, and familiar faces waxing poetic about our national drug of choice: the V8! If you don’t have time for all of the “off-brand” nonsense and wish to keep things ‘Vette-oriented (we’d say, you should give the Blue Oval’s head honcho a chance, his enthusiasm shines through!), the recently retired Chief Engineer gets his first real speaking part 12 minutes in, and you’ll be graced by some ZR1 footage at 17:46. Stick around after seeing the 1,064-horse Comp-Yellow monster, and it’s GM’s Global Chief Engineer of Small-Block Engines Jordan Lee’s turn on the mic.

[VIDEO] C8 Corvette ZR1 and Z06 Featured in New MotorTrend Documentary About the American V8 Engine


Other sightings of America’s Favorite Sports Car include an expertly chosen background from the president and CEO of SEMA, Mike Spagnola @ 21:30 and some final Tadge action at 27:15, but no matter how you watch, this one comes with a strong recommendation from your friendly neighborhood Corvette Bloggers: the only way to encourage the production of more content like this is to vote with your clicks!

From MotorTrend Channel via YouTube:

We’ve been living in the golden age of internal combustion, especially when it comes to the V8. At no point in history have V8 engines, and the cars and trucks they are in, been more powerful or efficient, or more suited for both work and play.

In this documentary film we’ll detail the V8’s history before diving into the technology that makes modern V8s both powerful and efficient. We’ll talk to the OEMs who still endeavor to keep the spark alive amid legislative flux, and get into the future of the V8 and why we’re so optimistic about it. We will tell the story of the V8 – drawing on expert testimonial, badass visuals, and unparalleled access to OEM experts, racing mechanics, aftermarket leaders, and garage enthusiasts, to deliver an unapologetic love letter to the rumbling heart of automotive culture.


Source:
MotorTrend Channel

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4 COMMENTS

  1. The 1955 Chevrolet Corvette with a V-8 Engine is one year older than I am!
    Therefore, I will always be a Corvette V-8 Guy – as the rest of the World is.
    I have owned pick-up trucks, party vans, Mustangs, Camaros, and four Great, Beautiful and Fast Corvettes – all with a V-8 Engine. Not a straight 6, boxer 6 or V-6, not a Diesel or electric, and certainly not anything with just 4 cylinders – just a fast, powerful and smooth gasoline burning Eight Cylinder V-8 Engine!
    The World needs to keep the V-8 Engine alive and thriving, with Corvettes creating up to 1,034 horsepower, the Mustang possibilities at 800 horsepower, and supercharged V-8 trucks that anyone can buy, drive and enjoy.
    The young ones need to drive and buy a vehicle with a V-8 engine to enjoy what we have enjoyed for the last 69 years.
    Thanks for listening.

  2. Hold On! – the SavageGeese guys corrected me with their great ZR! video below this one that it’s 1,064 HP – One Thousand, Sixty-Four American Horsepower SAE that the Corvette ZR1 will produce from Eight Cylinders – not 6, or 10 or 12 cylinders. Maybe after the first year of production, that ZR1 will head up to an even 1,100 horsepower with some new tricks.
    Sorry for the slight error, I was typing too fast. Enjoy both videos.

  3. The V8 engine: an American institution? Not quite. Pioneered by French engineers Clement Ader and Leon Levavasseur, by 1908 the V8 had been adopted by de Dion-Bouton, which patented its own design, the first with directly-opposed cylinders.

    De Dion-Bouton introduced a 7.7-liter V8 for a car in 1910 and displayed it in New York two years later. It was produced only in small quantities but inspired several American manufactures to follow suit. One of the production automobile was introduced in the US in 1914 by Cadillac, which sold 13,000 of the 5.4-liter (330 cu in) L-head engines in its first year of production.

    Few people today know it was one of de Dion’s engines which inspired Cadillac’s V8.

    Many thanks,
    Ray

  4. Just like pizza and space flight, Ray. Originated elsewhere, perfected in the good ol’ US of A!

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