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This page chronicles the many automobile engines that General Motors has used in its various marques.
GM currently uses certain terminology to refer to groups of engines, but this terminology does not necessarily isolate families. In other words, not all of the Vortec engines share common ancestry.
GM also uses three-character RPO codes to refer to specific engine models. Many of these have been reused over the years, and new RPO codes are sometimes used for very similar engines, however.
Unlike Chrysler and Ford, each GM division had its own line of engines until the 1970s. For this reason, making sense of GM engines can be difficult. For example, Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac each had a different 350 in³ V8 design!
Straight-3
Straight-4
Straight-5
GM has produced a few families of straight-6 engines. The first was introduced 1929 to replace the straight-4 previously used in Chevrolet cars. It lasted until the 1970s in GM cars, and all the way until 1985 in Chevrolet and GMC trucks. A new straight-6 was introduced in 2002 as part of GM's Atlas truck engine program. - 1929-1936 Chevrolet Generation 1 (181/194/207)
- 1935-1936 Pontiac 208
- 1937-1950 Oldsmobile/GMC (215/230/238/257)
- 1937-1953 Chevrolet Generation 2 (216/235/261)
- 1937-1954 Pontiac/GMC (222/223/239)
- 1939-1953 GMC (228/236/248/256/270)
- 1962-1984 Chevrolet Generation 3 (194/230/250/292)
- 1964-1965 Pontiac 215
- 2002-present Atlas LL8 Vortec 4200 - 4.2 L
Flat-6 General Motors produced just one flat-6 engine, the 1960s Chevrolet Corvair engine. This air-cooled aluminum engine was notable for many things, including being one of the first turbocharged engines in history.
General Motors was the pioneer of the V6 engine in the United States, putting the first American V6, the Buick Special's 198 in³ V6, on the road in 1962. But the company quickly lost interest in the small engine family and sold it to Kaiser in 1967. In the midst of the fuel crisis of the 1970s, GM realized that a V6 engine would be an excellent alternative to bulky straight-6 and large V8 engines, so the company bought the design back and launched the familiar 3800 line.
At that same time, the company began designing a 60° V6 for their new compact cars. This line started slowly, powering only the smallest cars. One notable version was the DOHC LQ1, designed with Lotus. The smooth and compact 60° engine has become GM's platform of the future, spawning the new global High Value family.
Other V6es came and went in recent decades, including the V8-derived Olds Diesel 4.3 and Vortec 4300 and Northstar-based LX5. The European Opel/Cadillac/Saturn 54° V6 has spawned the company's other future V6, the global High Feature DOHC engine.
- 90° "3800" V6 family - Pushrod V6
- Series I:
- 1960s 198 - 198 in³ (3.2 L) Buick/Jeep
- 1970s 231 - 231 in³ (3.8 L)
- 1980s 3.8 - 3.8 L
- 1980s 4.1 - 4.1 L Cadillac
- 1990s 3800 - 3.8 L
- Series II:
- 2000s L36 3800 - 3.8 L
- 2000s L67 3800 SC - 3.8 L supercharged
- Series III:
- 2000s L26 3800 - 3.8 L
- 2000s L32 3800 SC - 3.8 L supercharged
- 60° V6 family - Pushrod V6
- 1970s-1990s Buick 3.2 - 3.2 L
- 1991-1993 LQ1 - 3.4 L DOHC
- 1996-2004 LA1 - 3.4 L OHV
- 2000s LB8 - 2.5 L (China)
- 2000s LW9 - 3.0 L (China)
- 2000s LG8 - 3.1 L
- 1960-1978 GMC 305
- 1980s Olds Diesel 4.3 - 4.3 L Oldsmobile Diesel
- 1985-present Vortec 4300 - 4.3 L V6 developed from the Chevrolet 302 in³ V8
- 1985-2002 L35/LF6 - 4.3 L central-port injected
- 1985-1998 LB4 - 4.3 L TBI
- 2002-present LU3/LG3 - 4.3 L Multi-port injected
- Opel/Cadillac/Saturn 54° DOHC V6
- 1994-2005 L81 3000 - 3.0 L
- 2003-2004 LA3 - 3.2 L
- 1990s LX5 3500 - 3.5 L DOHC Oldsmobile V6 based on the Northstar
- High Value 60° V6 family - Descended from the 60° V6
- LX9 3500 - 3.5 L
- LZ8 3900 - 3.9 L
- High Feature - DOHC V6
- 2004 LY7 3600 - 3.6 L
- 2005 LP1 2800 - 2.8 L (to be introduced in 2005, based on the 3.6)
- Non-GM engines:
- 2000s LE8 - 2.5 L V6 for the Chevrolet Tracker
- 2000s L66 - 3.5 L DOHC V6 from Honda
Straight-8 - 1934-1953 Buick Series 40-90 (233/248/263/320)
- 1937-1949 Oldsmobile 257
- 1940s GM Straight-8 engine
From the 1950s through the 1970s, each GM division had its own V8 engine family. Many were shared among other divisions, but each design is most-closely associated with its own division. Chevrolet had two different V8s, the big-block and small-block. Today, there are only three V8 engines produced by GM: Chevrolet's Generation IV small-block and big-block, and Cadillac's advanced DOHC V8, the Northstar. - 1914-1992 Cadillac V8
- 1914 Type 51 314 in³ (5.1 L)
- 1928 341/346/322 341 in³ (5.6 L), 346 in³ (5.7 L), 322 in³ (5.3 L)
- 1949 331 331 in³ (5.4 L), 365 in³ (6.0 L), 390 in³ (6.4 L)
- 1963 429 429 in³ (7.0 L), 472 in³ (7.7 L), 500 in³ (8.2 L)
- 1977 L33/L35/L61/L62 425 in³ (7.0 L), 368 in³ (6.0 L) V8-6-4
- 1982 LC7/LT8/LQ6/LR6/LW2/L26 4.1 L, 4.5 L, 4.9 L
- 1949-1990 Oldsmobile Rocket V8
- 1949-1964 Generation 1 (303/324/371/394/215)
- 1964-1990 Generation 2 (330/400/425/455/350/403/260/307/305)
- 1953-1980 Buick V8
- 1953-1959 Buick/Chevrolet Truck (264/322)
- 1957-1966 Nailhead (364/400/401/425)
- 1964-1967 Mid-1960s (300/340)
- 1967-1976 Buick "Big-Block" (400/430/455)
- 1968-1980 Buick "Small-Block" (260/350)
- 1954-1980 Pontiac V8
- 1955-1958 Pontiac/GMC V8 (287/288/316/336/347/370)
- 1959-1979 Pontiac "Big Block" (389/400/421/428/455)
- 1963-1967 Pontiac 326
- 1968-1980 Pontiac "Small Block" (301/350/403/265)
- 1958-1983 GMC
- 1958-1959 GMC 336
- 1969-1983 GMC 366
- 1961-1964 Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac 215 aluminum V8 (now Rover V8 engine)
- 1954-1968 Chevrolet small-block V8
- 1969-1991 Chevrolet 350 small-block
- 1969-1975 ZQ3
- 1969-1972 L46 - High-compression
- 1970-1972 LT1 - High-performance
- 1971-1979 L48
- 1973-1980 L82 - Modified 350
- 1974-1981 LM1 - 350
- 1980 LG4 - California L48
- 1981 L81
- 1982-1984 L83
- 1985-1991 L98
- 1958-present Chevrolet Big-Block engine
- 1958-1965 Generation 1 (348/409)
- 1965 Generation 2 (396/427/454)
- L18 Vortec 8100 - 8.1 L V8
GM later standardized on the later generations of the Chevrolet design: - 1990-1994 LT5 - Corvette ZR-1 V8
- 1993-1997 Generation 2 small-block pushrod V8 family:
- 1993-1997 LT1 - 5.7 L V8
- 1996-1997 LT4 - High-output LT1
- 1998-present Generation 3 small-block pushrod V8 family:
- 1998-2004 LS1 - 5.7 L V8
- 2001-2004 LS6 - High-output LS1
- LR4 Vortec 4800 - 4.8 L
- L33 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L
- LM4 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L
- LM7 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L
- LQ4 Vortec 6000 - 6.0 L
- LQ9 Vortec HO 6000 - High-output 6.0 L
- 2005-present Generation 4 small-block pushrod V8 family:
- 2005-present LS2 - 6.0 L
- LS4 - 5.3 L Pontiac
- 2005-present LS7 - High-output LS2
- LH6 Vortec 5300 - 5.3 L Vortec
Other GM V8 engines include the following:
Cadillac has produced just one V12 engine, in the 1930s. Since then, the company has twice prepared a new V12, but has not yet brought one into production. - 1930-1937 Cadillac V12
- 1980s Cadillac Aluminum V12 - Never produced
- 2000s Cadillac Northstar V12 - Upcoming V12 variant
Cadillac is a rarity in having produced two of only three production V16 engines in history: - 1930-1937 Series 452
- 1938-1940 Series 90
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