Chevy’s Four-Cylinder Silverado Still Makes More Torque Than Its New V8

General Motors just made both of its V8s bigger for the next-generation Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, resurrecting the famous 350- and 400-cubic-inch displacements in the process. The new 5.7-liter L76 alone makes a healthy 402 HP and 428 lb-ft of torque, considerably more than the 5.3-liter V8 it replaces. Somehow, that’s still not enough torque to beat GM’s four-cylinder.

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The enhanced 2.7-liter TurboMax will make 350 HP and 455 lb-ft of torque for 2027, giving an engine with half as many cylinders a 27-lb-ft advantage over the new 5.7-liter V8. This isn’t some strange one-year fluke, either. The TurboMax was already out-muscling Chevy’s 5.3-liter V8 on the torque chart, and GM just gave both engines considerably more muscle without changing the pecking order.

Chevy’s Four-Cylinder Has Been Beating The V8 On Torque For Years

The numbers were arguably even stranger in the 2026 Silverado. Chevrolet rated the 2.7-liter TurboMax at 310 HP and 430 lb-ft, while the naturally aspirated 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 produced 355 HP and 383 lb-ft. The V8 had a 45-HP advantage, but the four-cylinder countered with an additional 47 lb-ft of torque. GM has turned up both sides of that equation for 2027. The enhanced TurboMax gains 40 HP and 25 lb-ft, thanks to changes including a new turbocharger, upgraded fuel injection, redesigned pistons and improved thermal management. Better still, GM is finally ditching its eight-speed automatic and pairing the TurboMax with the same 10-speed automatic used throughout the rest of the new Silverado and Sierra engine lineup.

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Meanwhile, the old 5.3-liter V8 is being replaced by an all-new sixth-generation Small Block with 5.7 liters and 350 cubic inches of displacement. GM increased the stroke by 6 mm, raised the compression ratio, increased airflow and added a dual-fuel system combining direct and port injection. Output climbs from the old 5.3’s 355 HP and 383 lb-ft to 402 HP and 428 lb-ft, meaning the new V8 gains 47 HP and 45 lb-ft.

More Torque Doesn’t Make The TurboMax The Stronger Tow Rig

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That 27-lb-ft advantage comes with a pretty enormous asterisk. Peak torque alone doesn’t determine how much a pickup truck can tow, and GM’s own numbers make that painfully obvious. The 2027 Silverado 1500 with the TurboMax tops out at 9,400 pounds of towing, while the new 5.7-liter V8 can pull as much as 13,700 pounds when properly equipped. That’s a 4,300-pound difference despite the V8 making less peak torque. The 5.7 also carries a maximum Silverado payload rating of 2,170 pounds, compared with 2,340 pounds for the TurboMax. There’s also an even bigger Small Block sitting above both engines. GM’s new 6.6-liter L78 V8 produces 481 HP and 501 lb-ft, making it the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in its class according to GM. Curiously, its maximum Silverado towing figure is only 9,700 pounds because of the configurations in which GM offers it, leaving the less powerful 5.7 as the heavyweight towing choice.

The TurboMax therefore isn’t replacing the V8’s role simply because it wins one number on the spec sheet. What it does prove is how little cylinder count and displacement tell us about modern truck engines. GM just stretched its Small Block back to a full 350 cubic inches, squeezed another 45 lb-ft from it, and the Silverado’s four-cylinder still walked away with more peak torque. Somewhere, a V8 just asked a four-cylinder to stop looking at the spec sheet.