Chevrolet officially discontinues LS7 crate engine

The 505hp, 7.0-litre behemoth used in the HSV W427 has been shown the door

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Snapshot

  • 505hp, 7.0-litre V8 from the HSV W427 now discontinued
  • 570hp, LS427/570 crate motor also no longer available
  • LS7 was the biggest production engine fitted in Australia

News out of the US has confirmed that both the LS7 and the LS427/570 are in their final days as crate engines.

Both have been marked as discontinued on Chevy Performance’s website, with Road and Track saying a spokesperson for Chevrolet confirmed the company only plans to fulfil current orders with the remaining stock of both mills.

The 427ci/7.0-litre LS7 was a dry-sumped, 505hp aspirated behemoth that spearheaded the performance LS engine line-up for Chevrolet until the introduction of the supercharged LS9 with the C6 Corvette ZR1.

In Australia, the LS7 is best known for its appearance in the legendary, and very rare, 2008 HSV W427. The W427 was created by HSV to celebrate the firm’s 20th anniversary, and the monster 427ci LS7 shoehorned into the VE still holds the title for the biggest mill ever fitted to an Australian production car.

In the US the LS7 found a home in the hardcore C6 Corvette Z06 and the Camaro Z/28, eventually being relegated to a crate engine as GM moved onto its new LT V8 platform.

The news of the LS7’s demise also takes down its cousin, the LS427/570. The LS427 shared much of the same architecture (hence the 427 in the name), and was created purely as a crate engine offering.

The biggest difference between the two donks was the LS427’s traditional wet sump in place of the LS7’s complex dry system – making engine conversions much easier for enthusiasts.

A different camshaft also yielded more power, up 65hp (to 570hp) from the LS7’s 505hp.

The LS427/570’s discontinuation does come as a surprise, as it was only announced as a brand new crate engine offering by Chevrolet in mid-2020.

While the demise of the pair of 427ci LSs is sad, there’s still plenty of meaty offerings to be found in Chevy’s crate engine department.

Its brand new 1000hp ZZ632/1000 big-block V8 broke the internet when it debuted at SEMA late last year, and we’re crossing our fingers and toes that the 606hp LT6 flat-plane crank V8 from the new C8 Z06 finds its way into GM’s crate engine showroom.

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