With a small, but significant slice of the market interested exclusively in gas motors, and that same crowed typically using their trucks either for towing or in the line of duty at a job site, General Motors needed an engine to push back against the V10 options being offered by Dodge and Ford. Old School Heritage, New School Techīy the time the 2000s had rolled around, big block V8 engines existed exclusively to offer pickup and SUV owners a high torque alternative to ordering a diesel. Building on the same basic architecture as the 454 cubic inch motor it would eventually out-live, the Vortec 8.1 (also known as the 8100) represented the final link to Chevrolet's roaring '60s muscle car motors, and claimed the title of the largest passenger vehicle engine to ever wear the Bowtie badge.
The 8.1-liter V8 was the very last big block to be produced by General Motors. And yet in the decade that followed the LS1's appearance on the scene, one particular Vortec soldiered forward to preserve GM's big block heritage well past the turn of the millennium. GM's LS engine platform has stolen the spotlight from nearly every other V8 motor in the company's portfolio, forging a high performance future while almost completely replacing the Vortec line-up of motors that had powered Chevrolet and GMC trucks throughout most of the '90s.
The 8.1L Vortec V8 Was GM's Last-Ever Big Block Engine