Long before the C4 hit the streets, Corvette Chief Engineer Dave McLellan had already envisioned a "super" Corvette. McLellan had in mind a Corvette with a sophisticated powerplant with small block reliability, meet emission standards and fall within the GM Powertrain guidelines. Oh, one other thing - it also had to outperform every sportscar in the world.

     That tall order began to take shape not long after the 1984 Corvette was released. The Corvette Engineering team, the Lotus Group in England and Mercury Marine combined forces to design, engineer and build what was to become the 375-horsepower, DOHC, 32-valve LT5. The engine was tested and retested to withstand the demanding engineering perimeters