GM Unveils New V-8 Lineup for 2027 Silverado and Sierra as EV Demand Cools

General Motors laid out the engine lineup for its redesigned 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 on Thursday, leading with two new V-8s built at the company's Flint Engine plant near Detroit. This is the biggest overhaul of GM's most profitable vehicles since 2019, according to BigGo Finance.

The new 5.7-liter V-8 replaces the outgoing 5.3-liter and makes 402 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque, up from 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft, according to pickuptrucktalk. The 6.6-liter V-8, replacing the 6.2-liter, makes 481 horsepower and 501 lb-ft.

That puts GM ahead of Ford's 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 (400 horsepower, 410 lb-ft) and Ram's returning 5.7-liter Hemi (395 horsepower, 410 lb-ft), pickuptrucktalk reported. Ram brought the Hemi back for 2026 after briefly dropping it for an all-six-cylinder lineup, a move pickuptrucktalk attributes to customer demand for the engine's sound over the turbocharged Hurricane inline-six.

GM is also carrying over its 3.0-liter inline-six diesel with improvements and pairing it with an optional 34-gallon tank to deliver more than 900 miles of highway range, according to BigGo Finance. GM President Mark Reuss argued diesel beats the hybrid route rivals have chosen, though the specific efficiency comparison he made was not detailed in available reporting.

That diesel bet puts GM at odds with Ford and Stellantis. Ford dropped its F-150 diesel option in favor of a PowerBoost hybrid, and Ram has announced an extended-range hybrid pickup targeting 690 miles of range, per BigGo Finance. GM's diesel currently accounts for 35% of Silverado sales and 20% of Sierra sales, while V-8s make up 55% of Silverado and 61% of Sierra sales, BigGo Finance reported, citing figures from GM.

Ford and Ram made their own moves this week

Ford unveiled its 2027 F-150 on Wednesday with a new 3.0-liter V-6 as the standard engine, replacing the previous 2.7-liter V-6, while continuing to offer its V-8 and hybrid options, according to the Epoch Times and CNBC. Chevrolet and GMC combined have outsold Ford's F-Series since 2020, but Ford's F-Series remains the single top-selling nameplate, CNBC reported.

"If we don't stomp the competition with these trucks, then I'd be very sad and questioning myself," GM President Mark Reuss said at Wednesday's media event, according to CNBC. "That's what success looks like: continued truck leadership."

The EV backdrop, and what GM says about timing

CNBC framed the new engines as arriving "amid deregulation by the Trump administration and lackluster demand for EVs," noting the federal $7,500 EV tax credit expired and that the administration has moved to reduce or eliminate federal fuel economy penalties. The Epoch Times reported EV sales fell sharply after that credit lapsed on September 30, 2025, with automakers taking billions in charges to rework EV plans.

A reasonable reading of that timeline is that GM is now free to lean harder into V-8s because Washington eased the rules pushing automakers toward electrification. But GM told CNBC the decision to build this generation of small-block V-8s predates the Trump administration's regulatory changes entirely, saying development of the Gen 6 engine started in 2018. Engine programs take years to design, tool, and validate, which is why a decision made under one administration is showing up in showrooms under another.

The current political and market environment rewards GM's V-8 bet more than it would have a few years ago, and the bet itself was locked in long before that environment existed.

An open question hanging over the launch

GM's celebration of its new engines comes as the outgoing 6.2-liter V-8 remains under scrutiny. The Epoch Times reported GM recalled nearly 600,000 vehicles in 2025 over an engine issue tied to that motor, and that regulators have since received additional complaints from vehicles both inside and outside the original recall population. BigGo Finance confirmed GM faces an ongoing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into 6.2-liter V-8 failures. Neither source reported a resolution or expanded recall as of this week, and GM has not said publicly whether the new 6.6-liter replacement shares any components with the engine under investigation.

The 2027 Silverado and Sierra are set to arrive at dealerships in the fourth quarter of this year, according to BigGo Finance and the Epoch Times, giving buyers their first chance to compare GM's new small-block against Ford's refreshed F-150 lineup and Ram's returning Hemi on dealer lots rather than spec sheets.