How Did GM's LS Engines Get Their Name? Here's What We Know

Throughout its storied history, General Motors has produced its share of automobile engines that might be deemed "legendary" by gearheads the world over. But there are arguably legends even amongst those legends, and a case could be made that GM's LS series engines fit the bill.

LS engines have essentially been the prize of GM's small-block V8 lineup since 1997, debuting under the hood of none other than Chevrolet's vaunted speedster, the Corvette. By 1998, an LS was also at the heart of the Camaro, and in the years since, the beloved engines have gone on to power everything from the GTO and G8 to the Trans AM and certain models of Cadillac. These days, LS models have also become go-to engines for swappers looking to beef up the muscle credentials of their project cars.

Given the enduring legacy of LS engines and the fact that they are still being used in GM vehicles today, there's no shortage of information available about the line's development and history. But even with all the information out there, there are a few nuggets of information about LS engines that even some diehard gearheads may not know, with one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the engines being how they got their name. More specifically, questions abound regarding what the "LS" stands for — and there may not be a concrete answer to that inquiry. Here's what we know about how GM's LS engines were named.

Just to reiterate, there is no concrete information available regarding how General Motors came up with the LS name. That means everything you read hereafter is essentially conjecture, however well-informed it might be. But conjecture has been the order of the day regarding the LS engine designation, with fans of the small block beasts conjuring no shortage of theories about what the two letters stand for. Among those theories is that LS might be short for "long skirt," referring to the size of the cylinder bore, but that has never been confirmed.

The same is true for another popular theory that claims LS stands for "Luxury Sport." This hypothesis has earned some traction over the years, as the LS and LT designations have sometimes been assigned to automobile trim packages (i.e., "LT" is the shortened version of "Luxury Touring"). It seems unlikely, however, that GM would use the same designation for trim packages as it does for an entire line of high-performance automobile engines.

The most likely theory comes from MotorTrend. The respected auto publication surmised that LS doesn't stand for anything in particular and that GM used the letters purely as a designation code to differentiate its new line of engines from its LT predecessors. While this theory may not be as sexy as some others, it's arguably also the one that makes the most practical sense. In the end, though, whether the LS actually stands for anything or not, the engine series remains one of the most celebrated in the history of General Motors, and that's a mammoth feat in and of itself.