In 1970, GM pushed the performance bar higher with the introduction of the Chevy 454 V8. Unlike the popular Chevy 427 that was used in a wide variety of automobiles, the 454 was used only in high performance cars like the Chevy Camaro, Corvette and Chevelle. There were 3 different variations of the 454 that came onto the drawing board at GM during the 70s; the LS5, the LS6, and the LS7 which was designed but not produced for the general public most likely due to the massive smog restrictions that started lurking about in the early 70s. . Although the LS7 454 never made its way into any cars sold to the public, it was sold as a crate engine available through Chevrolet and claimed to produce around 500 horsepower.

The 1970 production models of the 454 put out the most horsepower with the LS5 claiming 360 horsepower and the LS6 putting out a mighty 450 horsepower. As with many high performance engines during the muscle car wars, there were lots of rumors flying around in regards to actually how much horsepower the 454 engines put out as opposed to what Chevrolet was reporting. Some say that both the LS5 and LS6 454 motors were underrated by about 50 bhp. Of course this has never been officially proven but it could be a good argument for discussion.

Unfortunately the Chevy 454 was the right engine at the wrong time. Uncle Sam started to tighten down on emission controls in 1971 which affected a lot of the power of the 454. Another big blow for the 454 was the gas crisis of 1973 which pretty much sealed the fate for the motor during this period. The last Chevelles of 1973 used the 454 but by this point the engines had been toned down to a measly 245 horsepower. The Corvette followed suit by the end of 1974 and also bid farewell to this once powerful engine. The good news is that the 454 didn’t completely die after 1974 but was used up until 1996 in many Chevy heavy duty trucks. More good news is that today the 454 is one of the favorites among Chevrolet performance enthusiast which means that there is an ample supply of engine parts available for the 454 that really push the horsepower on these engines easily above the 600 bhp mark.