Manoli Katakis 
Renown performance company Katech has finished doing something rather unconventional with the 6.2L supercharged LT5 V8 crate engine. Only found in the C7 Corvette ZR1 from the factory, the LT5 is otherwise for the taking as a crate engine via the Chevrolet Performance Parts Catalog, and is ready to be transplanted into a myriad of things. As Katech has demonstrated, it doesn’t have to be just cars. In fact, boats want high octane horsepower, too. Especially airboats from the United States Coast Guard.
“We are proud to have completed these two Katech LT5 Marine AirBoat Engines for the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Katech. “These engines reach 800hp on 91 octane and engine data is displayed to the boat operator via a Bosch Motorsport DDU9 integrated with the factory ECU.”
The Bosch Motorsport DDU9 is a programmable full color dashboard display with a data logging system for motorsport applications, and apparently military applications, as well. Customers can implement their own graphics, pictures etc. on the 12 freely configurable display pages.
As a crate engine, The LT5 stands as the most powerful street legal motor GM has ever offered a la carte. But better believe you’re going to pay for it, with an MSRP of $19,995 when it was announced back in 2018. With it comes 755 horsepower and 715 lb-ft of torque to the crank, by way of GM magic and a 2.65 liter supercharger that just feeds boost to the cylinders like how McCarty fed punches to Lemieux on Joe Louis Arena Ice. Violently.
The LT5 as we know it is a demonstration of what’s possible when an OEM considers all variables, and decides to package 755 horsepower with a warranty. Sure, there’s more power to be found in the aftermarket, but the platform that Chevrolet provided with this C7 Corvette ZR1 engine is more than enough for most, and just enough for America’s Coast Guard.
