Tonawanda engines to power new Corvette Stingrays

WBFO-FM 88.7 | By Chris Caya

Published July 23, 2019 at 6:01 PM EDT

The 2020 Stingray is shown on a monitor set up in front of engines being produced at GM's Tonawanda engine plant.

General Motors has chosen its Tonawanda engine plant to build the next generation V-8 for the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.WBFO's Chris Caya reports

The all new 2020 Stingray is Chevrolet's first production mid-engine Corvette. It's powered by a 6.2L Small Block V-8 that produces 495 horsepower and goes from zero to 60 in under three seconds.

Jim Sandoro, founder of the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum, was among the guests invited to GM's announcement inside the River Road facility on Tuesday. Sandoro has been collecting cars for nearly 60 years.

A 2020 Stingray was also on display inside the engine plant

"All the muscle car engines for Chevrolet were made in Buffalo. People don't realize that. And we're famous all over the world for Tonawanda. That's what's so exciting that they're going to put that sticker on the block that says, made in Tonawanda. Now the world knows that it was here. But, it's a fast car. It's going to compete with a lot of those foreign cars. It's U.S. made. It couldn't be better," Sandoro said.

Tonawanda engine will produce GM's "next-gen 6.2L Small Block V-8 LT-2" for the 2020 Stingray

Plant director Ram Ramanujam says the engine will also help protect jobs for Western New Yorkers.

"We're always dependent on the customers for sales on what the overall jobs for the complex does. But absolutely this helps us retain jobs at this complex," Ramanujam said.

Tonawanda Engine has 1,500 employees who also build a variety of engines for several other GM vehicles. Cooling and fuel system parts for the new Stingray are produced at GM's Lockport Components and GM's Rochester Components facilities.