-
Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Mighty LS6 Chevelles Muscle Into Barrett-Jackson Auction
A pair of coupes with high-performance 454 V8s, marking the high-water mark of GM muscle cars, are ready to rumble in Las Vegas.
The 1970 Chevelle LS6 coupe selling in Las Vegas is painted a luscious Black Cherry. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)
The 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS LS6 is one of the most storied products of the muscle-car era and a fitting punctuation point for a decade of booming V8 power and audacious style. The most powerful Chevelle ever was available for just one year, a crowning achievement for the performance guys haunting the development labs at General Motors.
At GM, the watershed year of 1970 brought together the ingredients that resulted in such things as the LS6, when muscle-car style and engine technology joined up for a final blast down the quarter mile before emission controls and insurance rates forced a taming of the beasts. The 1970 LS6, with its race-bred 454cid V8, has long been recognized as a significant collector car, commanding strong values for its roaring performance and styling refinement.
There have been some Chevelle LS6 stars at past Barrett-Jackson auctions, and two more have surfaced for the Las Vegas sale, one the genuine article and the other a re-creation. First up is a glossy-black coupe with white stripes (Lot #655) that has been meticulously restored as a re-creation LS6, fitted with the classic 454cid big block V8, 4-speed M22 Rock Crusher manual transmission, the SS gauge package and power disc brakes. With its black vinyl top and black interior, including original bucket seats and console, the Chevelle is described by its owner as in “great condition, inside and out.”
There’s an orignal Chevelle LS6 selling Saturday (Lot #663), this one painted Black Cherry with an ivory interior, fully restored to factory specs. It also features the original Rock Crusher transmission and Positraction rear.
The power is what makes the 1970 Chevelle LS6 so special. For 1970, General Motors relaxed its longtime rules about putting its biggest engines into intermediate-size cars such as the Chevelle. The LS6 option for the Chevelle hardtop and convertible in 1970 cost just $1,000, but it added the mighty 454cid V8 to the standard SS package. And this big-block engine was very special, boasting a cross-drilled steel-alloy crank, forged aluminum pistons and modified cylinder heads with huge intake and exhaust valves.
The most significant feature of the big-block engine was its compression ratio, which was boosted to a high-performance 11.25:1. GM conservatively stated the power output of the LS6 engine at 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, but testers and analysts then and now have pegged it at a stunning 500 horsepower.
Dragstrip tests found the midsize car crossing the quarter mile in the low 13s at about 114 miles per hour, and faster on today’s much improved tires. Zero-to-60 times were established at less than six seconds. And Chevrolet was able to put all that performance into a readily accessible consumer product.
But this masterful exercise in raw power was to last only a single model year. For 1971, federal regulations called for cleaner engines as the nation set out to deal with air pollution. But it also had the undesired effect of strangling much of the muscle out of the muscle cars. The 1971 Chevelle SS with the 454 option, called the LS5, was forced to drop its compression to 9:1, causing a loss of about 100 horsepower.
At GM, the watershed year of 1970 brought together the ingredients that resulted in such things as the LS6, when muscle-car style and engine technology joined up for a final blast down the quarter mile before emission controls and insurance rates forced a taming of the beasts. The 1970 LS6, with its race-bred 454cid V8, has long been recognized as a significant collector car, commanding strong values for its roaring performance and styling refinement.
There have been some Chevelle LS6 stars at past Barrett-Jackson auctions, and two more have surfaced for the Las Vegas sale, one the genuine article and the other a re-creation. First up is a glossy-black coupe with white stripes (Lot #655) that has been meticulously restored as a re-creation LS6, fitted with the classic 454cid big block V8, 4-speed M22 Rock Crusher manual transmission, the SS gauge package and power disc brakes. With its black vinyl top and black interior, including original bucket seats and console, the Chevelle is described by its owner as in “great condition, inside and out.”
There’s an orignal Chevelle LS6 selling Saturday (Lot #663), this one painted Black Cherry with an ivory interior, fully restored to factory specs. It also features the original Rock Crusher transmission and Positraction rear.
The power is what makes the 1970 Chevelle LS6 so special. For 1970, General Motors relaxed its longtime rules about putting its biggest engines into intermediate-size cars such as the Chevelle. The LS6 option for the Chevelle hardtop and convertible in 1970 cost just $1,000, but it added the mighty 454cid V8 to the standard SS package. And this big-block engine was very special, boasting a cross-drilled steel-alloy crank, forged aluminum pistons and modified cylinder heads with huge intake and exhaust valves.
The most significant feature of the big-block engine was its compression ratio, which was boosted to a high-performance 11.25:1. GM conservatively stated the power output of the LS6 engine at 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, but testers and analysts then and now have pegged it at a stunning 500 horsepower.
Dragstrip tests found the midsize car crossing the quarter mile in the low 13s at about 114 miles per hour, and faster on today’s much improved tires. Zero-to-60 times were established at less than six seconds. And Chevrolet was able to put all that performance into a readily accessible consumer product.
But this masterful exercise in raw power was to last only a single model year. For 1971, federal regulations called for cleaner engines as the nation set out to deal with air pollution. But it also had the undesired effect of strangling much of the muscle out of the muscle cars. The 1971 Chevelle SS with the 454 option, called the LS5, was forced to drop its compression to 9:1, causing a loss of about 100 horsepower.
Goodwood Festival Of Speed
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTOMOTIVE
-
GREEN: Porsche Adding All-Model Hybrids
Gas/electric plug-versions of its entire lineup – including… -
AUTOS: Porsche Boosts 918 Spyder Power
The upcoming supercar will produce 887 horsepower from its gas/electric… -
AUTOS: Acura NSX Details Revealed
The rebirth of the mid-engine sports car – now an all-wheel-drive… -
DRIVEN: Jaguar’s Many-Splendored XJ
The British luxury sedan comes in 10 different flavors, with plenty… -
AUTOS: Lamborghini Egoista Launched
The wild single-seat concept car is unveiled at the end of the epic… -
AUTOS: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Hot Pontiac G8
NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick helped his driver modify the 2009… -
VINTAGE: A Fast Historic Tour Of France
Vintage race and touring cars compete in the 22nd annual Tour de… - More News
