His source is every chevy fan and tons of monthly publications. I just read this somehwere in the last month more than once. The LS1/6 series are pushrod which makes them pound for pound the strongest V-8 on the market and they shoehorn them into almost anything. The northstar is not pushrod and most folks aware of the chevy lineup know that means it needs a bigger home than an entry lux or sports coupe. The northstar is a great motor but they havn't bored it out quite as large and made it pump 500 ponies. EVen if they do it's for the STS and the XLR anyway. ACtually I hear the XLR is getting the LS motor.

 

Good luck on the CTS-V! That car is sexy as heck.

 

Sorry - you're wrong - it won't.

I've been following a lot of info about the CTS-V, so I know I'm 98% right.

But if you want to know why, here are the reasons:

1. The CTS-V was designed around/planned for using the LS2/6 engines.
2. The STS-V was designed around/planned for using the Northstar.
3. The Northstar is probably smoother/more refined (in theory, anyway) so it fits in with the "class" of car the STS-V is trying to be.
4. The LS engines are cheaper to manufacture, so GM would be smart to use them in the lower-priced CTS and still make it's price point.
5. Good luck getting a supercharged Northstar to fit under the good of a CTS-V without a really big scoop or hump, which nobody wants to see.

 

I test drove a CTS-V a couple of months ago. It's a beautifully vicious vulgar automobile...the car is such a contradiction. I love it.

 

GM has been going back and forth on producing a low volume 6.0L version of the CTS-V in it's current platform (GMX320). For the replacement platform (MY2007 GMX322) the 5.7L will be replaced with the 6.0L and they may offer the 7.0L version to compete with the V10 M5. Sources tell me that this will be a $70+ Caddy.

 

Imo the g definately looks better inside and out, but if ur like me, u need more performance. If and or when you do this trade, do me one favor and drive the thing like u stole it. Take pictures and let us kno how much of a bone stock beast it really is.

 

Most of my friends have gm cars like camaros and vettes and trans ams. The fun to drive factor on a high horsepower v8 is fun. Have fun beatin the M3's

 

z06ified, ryguy84... thanks for the clarification, i just looked it up on a couple websites... and it doesn't seem that the northstar would fit the cts. seems weird... because it's only a 4.4L engine.
i'm also a corvette fan. i've owned 2 in the past 6 years... a '98 and an '01. i used to also be a mod on c5corvette. i've never seen any publications confirming the ls2 on the 2006. but thanks for your insight.

 

I disagree with a couple of these:

Not exactly. When the CTS was conceived, the engineers never thought about putting a V-8 in it one day. The engine bay was designed to house V-6's only, and nothing more. The V-series idea came along after the CTS was already in production, and it became a search for which engine in the GM stable would fit in the CTS' engine bay. Shoving a V-8 into the CTS was an afterthought. It was just by luck that the LS6 happened to fit.

This wasn't part of the decision process. While pushrod V-8s are generally less expensive to manufacture than DOHC 32 valve V-8's, the LS6 isn't exactly cheap to manufacture with its liquid sodium filled exhaust valves, stronger block, etc. The cost difference between the LS6 and Northstar probably isn't more than $1k, which isn't significant on a $50k car. If the supercharged Northstar would have fit in the CTS-V, they would have used it, even though it costs more.

 

Liters mean little for overall engine size. 4.4 doesn't sound big but an OHC setup used much more space than pushrod. That's the reason pushrods are huge at GM and they seem to make up the for the lack of OHC technology with other better technology. If HP/total engine configuration dimension was a metric, the LS would be as high tech as they come. Well until BMW's v-10 comes out...I bet that thing sound like nothing ever heard before!