RUMOR: GM May Move the Performance Build Center from Bowling Green to Michigan

Could GM’s Performance Build Center (or parts of it) be headed back to Michigan?

The center moved from a 100,000-square-foot facility in Wixom, Michigan to a special section of the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2013 after a $3.5 million investment by GM. Now GM Authority says it’s learned GM is weighing a reversal of that decision, at least partially.

The Performance Build Center produces the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8 gasoline engine that’s currently under the hoods of the Chevy Camaro ZL1, Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, and Cadillac Escalade-V. Earlier versions were used in the C7 Z06 and CTS-V, as well as the Malibu Wakesetter 23 LSV boat.

“Although it’s unclear at this time which parts of the center may be moved or how the move would affect GM’s engine production, at this point, it’s a possibility that’s under consideration,” GM Authority reports.

They believe it might make sense to move part of the center to Michigan to be closer to the upcoming hand-built Cadillac Celestiq, the $300,000 luxury car that will be built at the GM Tech Center in Warren. “After all, if GM is looking to hand-build high-performance engines, it makes sense to consolidate the center alongside similar jobs in terms of attention to detail and build quality,” GM Authority surmises.

The Performance Build Center also produces the new 5.5-liter LT4 flat-plane crank V8 engine in the 2023 C8 Z06 and will likely build the new twin-turbo 5.5-liter LT7 V8 that will power the upcoming C8 ZR1 and C8 Zora, so perhaps GM might leave production of those two engines in Kentucky.

As usual, when it comes to future product decisions, GM isn’t saying publicly what it plans to do, not yet anyway, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Source:

GM Authority

Related:

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