Mercury Marine Open To Conversation Over Supplying Engines For Future Corvettes

Remember Mercury Marine? It’s the company responsible for the assembly of General Motors’ former 5.7-liter DOHC LT5 V8 engine, which was found in the C4 Corvette ZR-1.

The Corvette’s future is a hot topic these days, especially as sightings of mid-engine Corvette mules continue to become commonplace and the sports cars’ Bowling Green assembly plant shuts down for major retooling. Now, it seems Mercury Marine is certainly open to the idea of once again tieing the knot with GM over future Corvette engines.

Rick Mackie, senior marketing manager for Mercury Racing, alluded to the company’s feelings in an interview with Automotive News. Much of the conversation surrounded Mercury Marine’s plans to once again break into the high-performance engine market as its boat business reaches a tipping point.

Mackie acknowledged—key word: acknowledged, not confirmed—rumors of a mid-engine Corvette in the future and believes its rumored DOHC V8 powertrain would pair well with what Mercury Marine has done best for years.

“I would think we would at least have the conversation,” Mackie said. “But we haven’t yet.”

Mercury Marine currently offers two high-performance engines for cars: the SB4 and QC4 crate engines. The SB4 is a 7.0-liter DOHC V8 based on a GM LS block and produces 750 horsepower. The larger QC4 displaces 9.0-liters and features a twin-turbocharger to make 1,350 hp. It’s previously been speculated GM’s rumored, upcoming 6.2-liter LT5 DOHC V8 engine has been testing in marine applications since Mercury Marine knows a thing or two about the design.

But, for the record, GM and Mercury Marine haven’t been in talks. Maybe there’s more to the story, maybe there isn’t. But, the two companies do share quite a history.