GM was set to introduce a new Chevrolet Silverado inline six-cylinder engine as well as for GMC Sierra pickups. It would compete with Ram’s all-new Hurricane 3.0-liter, introduced this year. But now comes word that GM is scrapping those plans as it revs up its electrification efforts. 

How much horsepower would the Silverado six-cylinder engine have

The TT I6 truck engine was to be based on GM’s L3B 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder, currently available in both the Sierra and Silverado. GM has what it calls a Cylinder Set Strategy, part of its strategy for creating the inline six. Basically, it’s adding another two inline cylinders to the L3B engine. Oh, and also adding another turbocharger, according to GM Authority.

Though no numbers were ever announced, insiders say it was a 500 hp engine with 500 lb-ft of torque. The naturally-aspirated Ram 3.0-liter Hurricane engine delivers 510 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. So the numbers for both are very similar. Except one is twin-turbocharged and the other is naturally aspirated.

What other inline six-cylinder engines does GM have?

Comparing this stillborn I6 to GM’s L84 and L87 V8s, they offer 355 hp and 420 hp respectively. Torque numbers are 383 lb-ft and 460 lb-ft respectively. So, as with the Ram Hurricane, GM’s I6 would have bettered its V8 siblings by a bunch. 

This wasn’t the first stab at an inline six-cylinder engine for GM trucks. Of course, its original inline-six backed Chevy and GMC trucks, and passenger cars, for decades into the 1970s. And in 2002, it introduced an all-new I6 called the LL8 Vortec 4200. New Chevy Trailblazers, EMC Envoys, and Oldsmobile Bravadas received this engine.

Later, it powered various other GM products including the Saab 9-7X. The engine lasted until 2009 before killed the Vortec 4200, for two reasons. First, the platforms using the engine were no longer around. And also because of GM’s decision to shutter the 4200 engine plant in Moraine, Ohio. GM used its Cylinder Set Strategy to also create three five-cylinder engines and four-cylinder offshoots of the Vortec 4200. 

Would the Silverado inline-six have more power than a V8?

GM has quite an array of six-cylinder engines currently available, but they are all V6 configurations and all twin-turbocharged. Displacing 3.0-liters and 3.6-liters, they power a variety of Cadillacs only. Ford and Toyota also have V6 engines, but no inline sixes. So for now, and maybe for some time to come, the only inline six-cylinder engine, other than diesel, will be the Hurricane. 

Insiders suggest that with the I6 off the table, further development will take place with GM’s 2.7-liter I4. And recently, GM announced it is developing a new small-block V8 generation. So while it is headlong into electric-powered development, it isn’t giving up on gas-powered engines. And with all of the buzz surrounding synthetic fuel as a replacement for gasoline, a zero-emissions internal combustion engine could become a much more marketable product into the 2030s.