Engine Build Experience | Build Your Own Corvette Engine

For enthusiasts who want to be personally involved in creating their Corvette, Chevrolet’s new Corvette Engine Build Experience allows them to literally build the engine for their new car.

In what is believed to be the world’s most hands-on super car program, customers who order a 2011 Corvette Z06 or ZR1 can choose an option to help assemble their cars’ LS7 or LS9 engines at General Motors’ Performance Build Center (PBC) in Wixom, Mich.

“Corvette owners are some of the most passionate – and most involved – enthusiasts in the industry,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet marketing. “The Corvette Engine Build Experience offers customers an unprecedented opportunity to participate, hands on, in creating the car.”

In addition to building their own engines, Corvette buyers can attend driving school in Arizona or Nevada, take delivery of their vehicles at the National Corvette Museum or watch their vehicles being built at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Ky.

“In a way, this is a dream program for a Corvette customer. I would have jumped at the chance to build the 427 in my ’67 ’Vette, and that didn’t have half of what goes into one of these modern precision engines,” said Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman, Global Product Operations. “Today's LS7 and LS9 Corvette engines are pinnacle achievements in engineering, and to personally involve our customers in their final creation shows the depth of Chevrolet’s commitment to make lasting connections with the customer.”

Customers can also build their own LS7 or LS9 crate engine without purchasing a Corvette via the Crate Engine Build Experience Program.

The Engine Build Experience is an option with a suggested retail price of $5,800. When a customer selects the PBC option for a 2011 Corvette Z06 or ZR1 and the dealer submits the order to Chevrolet, a special concierge contacts the customer to verify participation and help coordinate arrangements. While travel arrangements to and from Metro Detroit are the customer’s responsibility, the Chevrolet concierge helps schedule the engine build; coordinates the customer’s activities at the Performance Build Center; assists with booking local lodging and meals, and arranges local transportation.

At the PBC, the customer doesn’t merely view the engine’s assembly; he or she builds it under the supervision of and support from skilled technicians. When the engine is assembled, a personalized nameplate is added to the engine next to the builder’s name. It is then sent to the Corvette assembly plant for installation in the customer’s car.

The Corvette Engine Build Experience is possible because of the hand-assembly processes used at the 100,000-square-foot PBC. Technicians hand-build the Corvette Z06’s LS7 7.0L engine, the Corvette ZR1’s 6.2L supercharged LS9 engine and a variation of the Corvette Grand Sport’s LS3 6.2L engine. The PBC incorporates the best practices of low-volume niche manufacturers and the established quality and manufacturing standards at GM to ensure the highest-quality specialized engines.

Like all engines assembled at the PBC, Engine Build Experience engines are covered by Chevrolet’s five year / 100,000-mile transferable powertrain warranty.

The Engine Build experience is the latest program Chevrolet offers for Corvette owners. Other programs include:

Corvette plant tour, where customers can follow their vehicle down the Bowling Green assembly line
Corvette Museum delivery, where customers take delivery of their new Corvette at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green
Corvette ZR1 Driving School, which offers complimentary attendance at either Bob Bondurant’s Corvette Driving School in Arizona, or Ron Fellows’ Corvette Performance Driving School near Las Vegas.

“Simply put, no other sports car manufacturer can match the level of personal customer involvement that Corvette offers,” Campbell said. “The Corvette Engine Build Experience takes this personal involvement to an unprecedented level.”

Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports Builds His Own LS7

Rick Hendrick builds his own Corvette LS7 engine Rick Hendrick knows Chevrolet. His Chevy roots run deep. He started racing with a 1931 Chevrolet nearly 50 years ago. He was a Chevy dealer 35 years ago. He owns the most successful Chevrolet racing team in NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, with five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champ Jeff Gordon among his drivers. But despite all that Chevrolet DNA, he recently learned something new and in his own words, “I’ve been blown away.”

Rick took part in the Corvette Engine Build Experience and got an inside look at how the engines go together for the LS7 and LS9 Corvettes. He bought a Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition and added the Engine Build Experience package so he could build his own 7.0L 505-horsepower LS7 engine that will go into his new car.

The Corvette Engine Build Experience is an available option for buyers of new Z06 or ZR1 models. Buyers go to the GM Performance Build Center (PBC) in Wixom, Mich. and under the supervision of a skilled engine builder gets to put together the pieces that make up one of the most exciting engines in the auto industry. The engines are all tested and certified before they leave the PBC and they carry a full warranty.

Rick Hendrick builds his own Corvette LS7 engine Rick thinks building your car’s engine is the ultimate event for a Corvette owner. He says, “To be able to experience it I think you’ll have a whole new level of appreciation for your car.” Since he owns the number one NASCAR race team it means a lot when Rick says, “The attention to detail is just as good as what I’ve seen in race engines.”

Rick says, “I’m a die-hard Chevrolet guy … and this engine is just light years ahead of anything I’ve ever worked on.” He owns Chevrolet dealerships around the country and he says, “I don’t know how they sell the car for this price with this much detail, because I know how much we (Hendrick Motorsports) spend in a normal race engine to get it ready to go to the track. The quality of the parts and pieces and the checks and balances that are going into this engine, I’m amazed. The motor should cost about what the car costs.”

After nearly a half-century of owning, driving, racing and selling Chevrolets, this was the first time Rick saw the inside of an LS engine. “When you see it come together in stages you know why it’s such a great piece.”

He feels very confident about what Chevrolet is producing and what he’s selling. “We have the best warranty out there and when you see the product you know that GM can afford to put that kind of warranty on the car. The cars are the best we’ve ever had.” - via Faces of GM.