DETROIT – The 100-millionth Chevy Small Block engine was produced in 2011, commemorating a defining chapter in Chevrolet’s 100-year history. Introduced in 1955, the   “Chevy V-8” transformed the brand, and fueled American’s love of performance that continues today.

The milestone engine is a 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 small block – the power behind the 205-mph Corvette ZR1 – which is hand-built at GM’s Performance Build Center, northwest of Detroit. It represents the fourth generation of the small block and is the most powerful engine ever built by GM for a regular-production car. GM will preserve the engine as part of its historical collection.

“The introduction of the Small Block changed everything,” said Jim Campbell, vice president, GM Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “The Small Block was an instant success because it offered customers high performance and an affordable price, in a compact design that was very easy to modify. The Small Block also started a wave of innovation – and escalating performance – that transformed the cars Americans drove on the street and the track.”

The Small Block Redefines Chevy Performance

From 1929 and 1955, Chevrolet only offered six-cylinder engines. To address the burgeoning performance market, chief engineer Ed Cole set out to design a Chevrolet V-8 that was powerful, lightweight and affordable.

His solution was elegantly simple: a compact, efficient 90-degree V-8 engine, featuring overhead valves, pushrod valvetrain, and 4.4-inch on-center bore spacing. The Chevrolet Big Block follows the same formula, with the exception of a wider 4.8 inch bore spacing.

When it debuted, the Small Block delivered 195 horsepower with an optional four-barrel carburetor, and outperformed most anything then on the market. But that was just the beginning. New technologies rapidly increased horsepower. Just two years after the Small Block was introduced, the addition of fuel injection increased output to 283 horsepower – or one horsepower for every cubic inch of the 283 cid engine. By 1970, the Chevy V-8 family grew to include a staggering 450 horsepower, 454-cid Big Block.

“The performance of the Small Block transformed Chevrolet,” said Campbell. “The Small Block made Chevrolet the weapon of choice for grassroots racers on the drag-racing and sports-car tracks across America. It also powered Chevrolet’s factory racing programs, leading to wins in stock car, endurance, and Trans Am series. Chevrolet’s racing experience in turn led to more potent production cars, creating legendary names like Corvette, Camaro, Impala, and Chevelle.”

The Culture of Small Block Performance

The combination of compact dimensions, impressive power and available aftermarket parts made the Chevy V-8 the most popular crate engine in the industry. For example, Tammy Ray never considered anything but a Chevy Small Block when building “Gold Digger,” her 1933 Ford Phaeton hot rod that won the 2010 Ridler Award:

“My builder will say you can get more horsepower out of a Chevy than a Ford,” she said. “For me, the decision was based solely on appearance. The Chevy V-8 is much cleaner, more compact, and with so many parts available, I could customize every part of engine – right down to the gold nuggets inlaid on valve covers.”

Today, hot rodders can select from a wide range of new Chevrolet V-8 crate engines from General Motors Performance Parts. For example, the classic 350 cid Small Block, with 290 horsepower, delivers affordable power and easy modification, making it ideal starting point for many project cars. The earth-shaking, 572-cid ZZ572R Big Block delivers 720 horsepower and 685 pound-feet of torque make it ideal for drag racing.

The newest addition to the GMPP line is the E-ROD engine family, the first crate engine in the industry to meet California emissions requirements. The E-ROD engine package includes everything customers need to get modern performance, emissions and fuel economy out of their hot rods, including: GMPP engine wiring harness and engine control module; exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters, oxygen and mass-airflow sensors; and even a fuel-tank evaporative emissions canister.

“More people do more things with a Small Block than any other engine, and probably more than all other engine platforms combined,” said Campbell. “There’s a Small Block to fit almost any hot rodder’s needs, whether they are building a gold-plated hot rod, a 1,000-horsepower dragster, or an emissions-compliant project car.”

The Continued Evolution of the Small Block

Today, Chevrolet sells more four-cylinder engines than V-8s. But, descendents of the original Chevy small block still power Chevrolet’s most-capable production and racing vehicles. As per the original, the newer V-8s are physically small and light – and extremely efficient at turning fuel into horsepower.

“Without question, the current Chevrolet V-8s are lineal descendants of the 1955 small block,” said Sam Winegarden, GM executive director for Global Engine Engineering. “They retain the 90-degree V-configured eight-cylinder layout, overhead valve placement and characteristic pushrod valve train. Where they differ are the modern technologies that would have sounded like science fiction 50 years ago, such as all-aluminum blocks, titanium connecting rods, Active Fuel Management, and variable valve timing.”

On the track, the Small Block has made Chevrolet the most-winning name in NASCAR history, and it powered the Corvette Racing team to seven class wins at Le Mans between 2001 and 2011.

On the street, the modern Small Block powers Chevrolet’s full-size trucks, such as Silverado and Suburban, as well as performance cars including the Camaro and Corvette. These modern engines deliver levels of power, durability, and efficiency that were inconceivable 50 years ago. For example, the 6.2L Small Block in 2012 Corvette delivers 436 horsepower, up to 26 miles per gallon, and is backed by General Motors’ five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

“Constant innovation and evolution have made the Small Block relevant for more than 50 years,” said Winegarden. “We are actively working on the fifth generation of the Small Block, which we believe will be the best V-8 engines ever made. By adding new technologies, such as direct injection, we will continue to improve the performance, durability, and efficiency of the iconic Chevy V-8.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free" solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Denny Davis (left), a member of the original General Motors small-block engineering team, works with GM Experimental Assembler John Ross, to help build the 100-millionth small-block engine - 56 years after the first production small-block.  Credit GM for photo.

Small Block Fast Facts:

■One-hundred million engines since 1955 is the equivalent of more than 1.78 million produced every year – or about 3.4 small-blocks produced every minute for the last 56 years.

■With an average length of 29 inches, about 2,185 small block engines could be lined up front to back in a mile. It would take 45,766 miles to line up all 100 million small blocks – almost twice the distance around the equator.

■At an average of 230 horsepower per engine, the collective output of all 100 million small block engines is 23 billion horsepower.

■The introduction of the small-block V-8 in the 1955 Corvette is widely credited with saving the car from cancellation.

■In 1955 Zora Duntov drove a disguised, pre-production and small-block-powered ’56 Chevy in the Pikes Peak hill climb race and shattered the sedan-class record by more than two minutes.

■The fuel-injected 283 small-block in 1957 was rated at 283 horsepower, or one horsepower for every cubic inch. Today, the Corvette Z06’s 427-cubic-inch small-block produces 1.18 horsepower per inch, while the Corvette ZR1’s 376-cubic-inch supercharged small-block produces 1.69 horses per inch.

■The fuel-injected small-block was so dominant in NASCAR racing in 1957, it was banned.

■Corvette won its first race at LeMans in 1960 with a small-block engine and won its seventh title there in June 2011, again with a small-block engine.

■The largest-displacement small-blocks ever produced by GM are the LSX454/LSX454R crate engines offered through Chevrolet Performance, at 454 cubic inches (7.4L); the largest-displacement small-block for a production vehicle is the 427-cubic-inch (7.0L) LS7 used currently in the Corvette Z06.

■The smallest-displacement small-block V-8 ever produced included a 262-cubic-inch (4.3L) version used in the mid-Seventies – the same displacement shared by the current small-block-based 4.3L V-6.

■The most powerful small block ever produced is the LS9 engine used in the current Corvette ZR1. It is rated at 638 horsepower, making it the most powerful engine ever produced by GM for a regular-production car.

■The lowest-output small block was the 1975-76 262 V-8 rated at 110 horsepower. The supercharged LS9 makes 580 percent more horsepower than it with only 43-percent greater displacement.

■The 4.3L V-6 used today in some GM trucks and vans is based on the original small-block architecture, but essentially with two fewer cylinders – and a 280-hp turbocharged version was used in the 1991 GMC Syclone and 1992-93 Typhoon.

■Original-architecture small-block engines are still produced as crate engines for Chevrolet Performance and manufactured for marine and industrial applications.

■The small-block wasn’t known as the small-block until Chevrolet introduced the big-block engine family in 1965 – previously, versions were known simply by their cubic-inch designations, i.e. 283, 327, etc., or simply as the Chevy V-8.

■Small-block engines are currently produced in Wixom, Mich.; Romulus, Mich.; St. Catharines, Ontario; and Silao, Mexico.