The crate engine scene has undergone something of a renaissance over the past couple of years. Dodge has been selling the Hellcat Redeye V8 engine since November last year and Ford is reportedly developing a twin-turbo Godzilla engine as a competitor. Even Honda joined the market with the Civic Type R crate engine, and now Chevrolet is introducing its largest and most powerful crate engine to date. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Chevy’s ZZ632/1000 engine.

The numbers Chevrolet has shared are impressive. The Big Block V8 engine has a displacement of 632 cubic inches, which is 10.35 liters, and develops a peak output of 1,004 horsepower (738 kilowatts) and 876 pound-feet (1,188 Newton-meters) of torque when running on 93-octane gas. Those figures are reached at around 6,600 rpm, which is very close to the recommended maximum of 7,000 rpm. 

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The manufacturer proudly explains all eight intake and exhaust ports of the ZZ632 have the same length, volume, and layout, as opposed to other Big Block engines which have notable variations in port shape from cylinder to cylinder. Meanwhile, fuel is delivered to the cylinders by eight port injectors, and Chevrolet says all cylinders produce the same amount of power.

Chevy’s new crate engine shares its mold with the ZZ572 engine from the COPO Camaro. The castings in the ZZ632, however, are machined to accommodate the 10.35-liter displacement with the bore growing by 0.040 inches compared to the smaller 9.4-liter V8. Chevrolet explains it tested the new crate engine thoroughly with one engine easily covering more than 200 simulated drag strip passes on a dynamometer.

“This is the biggest, baddest crate engine we’ve ever built,” Russ O’Blenes, director of Chevy’s Performance and Racing Propulsion Team, comments. “The ZZ632 sits at the top of our unparalleled crate engine lineup as the king of performance. It delivers incredible power, and it does it on pump gas.”

The automaker will have the new crate engine on display during the 2021 SEMA show next month. Customer deliveries are scheduled to begin early next year, though Chevrolet hasn’t revealed the pricing yet.

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