What V8 is in the Chevy Caprice?
There isn’t a single V8 that powers every Caprice. Across its history, Chevrolet has offered several V8 engines in different generations and markets. The most recent Caprice variant used in police service, from 2011 to 2017, runs a 6.0-liter V8, while civilian Caprices from earlier decades used a range of 5.0–5.7-liter small-blocks and occasional big-blocks.
To understand what V8 might be under the hood, it helps to look at the Caprice by era and market. The Caprice name has traveled through several generations, with distinct engine lineups for civilian sedans and for police fleet versions.
Engine options by era
Below is a snapshot of the major V8 options across the Caprice’s history, noting that exact displacements and configurations varied by year and market.
Classic Caprice (1965–1996)
During the classic era, the Caprice was offered with a variety of V8s as Chevrolet expanded its large-car lineup. The engine choices spanned from smaller, more economical V8s to larger, high-displacement engines available on certain trim levels or packages. The exact engine you’d find depended on the model year, option package, and regional offerings.
- Small-block V8s in the roughly 5.0–5.7 liter range (approximately 305–350 cubic inches)
- Occasional big-block V8s in the near 6.0–7.5 liter range (roughly 396–454 cubic inches) for higher-performance or heavy-duty configurations
In sum, the classic Caprice lineup offered multiple V8 choices across generations, with the most common civilian-engine options centering on the 5.0–5.7 L family and bigger V8s appearing on select packages or years.
1991–1996 civilian Caprice
The final civilian Caprice generation emphasized larger V8 options, with the 5.7-liter V8 (the 350 cubic inch class) being a prominent choice in many configurations. Some models also carried smaller V8s, but the 5.7 L LT1-style powerplant is the engine most associated with the late-1990s Caprice civilian lineup.
- 5.7-liter V8 (approximately 350 cubic inches; LT1-family powerplant commonly associated with late-Gen Caprices)
This era is often remembered for its emphasis on a strong V8 option that balanced power with the ride that buyers expected from a full-size sedan.
Caprice PPV / Holden-based Caprice (2011–2017)
In the Caprice police version sold in the United States and some other markets, GM equipped a dedicated V8 powerplant tuned for durability and patrol duty. The Caprice PPV used a 6.0-liter V8, built from GM’s Gen IV LS-family architecture, delivering robust torque for high-speed pursuit and long-duration driving.
- 6.0-liter V8 (GM Gen IV LS-based)
The 6.0L Caprice PPV was designed specifically for law enforcement needs and marked a distinct departure from civilian-caprice powertrains.
Summary
Across its history, the Chevy Caprice has not used a single universal V8. Early and mid-generation Caprices offered a spectrum of V8 options—from roughly 5.0 to 5.7 liters in the civilian lineup to larger V8s in certain configurations—while the Caprice police version (2011–2017) settled on a 6.0-liter V8 for its performance and durability needs. If you’re researching a specific model year, the exact engine will depend on the particular trim, package, and market, so it’s best to verify the original specifications for that car.
In the broader sense, the Caprice’s V8 story reflects GM’s evolving V8 lineup over decades: smaller, efficient V8s in the late 20th century civilian cars, and a robust 6.0-liter unit used in the later police-focused Caprice variant. For enthusiasts and buyers, this means the “V8” in a Caprice can refer to several different engines, each tied to a distinct era of the vehicle’s long-running legacy.
