A V8 engine has eight cylinders arranged in a V-shape, four cylinders on one side and four on the other. Leon Levavasseur designed the first known V8 in 1904, but it was not used in a car; It was used to propel racing planes and speedboats. The following year, a V8 was first installed in a car – a Rolls-Royce built in Britain in 1905. The Americans had to wait until 1907 when a V8 was installed in the Hewitt Touring Car.
V8 engines are loved because they offer an excellent balance between performance, economy and production costs. Otherwise they are more compact than the V10 and V12, which means that they can be used as front, mid and rear engines without any problems. Not to forget that because of their configuration, V8s tickle the ears of auto enthusiasts with a gentle but malicious splash unmatched by any other engine. As much as the V8 is loved, some manufacturers have given us some terrible engines that enthusiasts want to forget.
For those looking for cars with a lot of poke, here are the 5 most powerful V8s ever and also 5 that turned out to be junk and should be avoided at all costs.
10
Powerful: Koenigsegg Jesko 5.1 liter twin turbo V8 engine – 1603 hp
Via: Königsegg
When it comes to the most powerful V8s, it’s like Koenigsegg is competing with himself. Their 2003 supercar CC8S crashed the McLaren F1 and grabbed the most powerful production car engine claim with a 655 hp V8. That was just the beginning; its successor, the Agera, comes with a V8 with up to 1,341 hp (Agera RS).
Via: YouTube
Koenigsegg’s newest limited-production hypercar, the 3.4 million Jesko (125 units), currently holds the bragging rights for the most powerful V8. It is powered by a 5.1-liter V8 biturbo V8 that produces 1,281 hp on regular gasoline. When fed with biofuel, it generates a whopping 1,603 hp.
9
Garbage: 1977 Pontiac 6.6-liter 400 V8 engine – 180 hp
Via: Me Auctions
When Pontiac launched its V8 engine in 1955, this muscle car mill set out to become General Motors’ performance division. By ’69 the engine had grown to a stocky 455 Cu In 7.4-liter V8 that made 370 hp in the Pontiac GTO. No wonder that the GTO is considered the first muscle car for the masses.
Via: Me Auctions
When the fuel crisis broke out in 1973, having a car that swallowed fuel was a must. Pontiac was forced to replace the 7.4-liter V8 with a 6.6-liter V8 that had a four-cylinder carburetor and twin exhaust. The 6.6 liter engine found its way into the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, where it only developed 180 hp. Horrible for a performance vehicle.
8th
Powerful: Dodge Demon 6.2 liter Hemi V8 supercharged engine – 840 hp
Via: NetCarshow
This 6.2 liter Hemi SRT Hellcat V8 was developed for the uncomplicated 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and made 840 horses (on 100 octane gasoline). It is the most powerful series engine for muscle cars to date.
Via: YouTube
This HEMI V8 has a redline of 6,500 RPM and has 25+ major component upgrades, the most notable of which is the massive 2.7 liter supercharger. Equipped with insane tech to dominate the drag strip, the Dodge Demon can do wheelies, whizzing from 0 to 60 mph in 2.1 seconds, the 1/4 mile in just 9.54 seconds at 140 mph run and top it at 203 mph.
7th
Garbage: 1979 GM 267 4.4-liter V8 – 120 hp
Via: Me Auctions
Auto enthusiasts have adored the GM (Chevys, more precisely) small-block V8 since it was first introduced around the world. It was a little workhorse that was known to be reliable and, when set up well, to produce tremendous power. However, the 1979 267 cu-in engine introduced for that year’s Camaro is a unit Chevy is likely to regret in hindsight.
Via: dyler.com
In the conservative way, Chevy used the smallest hole in a small block. To make matters worse, it was starved of air. The result was a V8 that only made 120 hp. It’s considered the worst version of Chevy’s little blocks ever to go into production, as it made Monte Carlo, El Camino, and Malibu Classic painfully slow in 1980 and 1981.
6th
Powerful: Ferrari F154FA 4.0 liter twin turbo engine – 769 hp
About Ferrari
Take a look under the hood of a Ferrari SF90 Stradale and you will find this V8, code-named F154FA, made by the Italian automaker. It’s an evolution of the F154 CB and F154 CD used in the Ferrari 488 GTB, 488 Spider, 488 Pista, and the F8 Tributo, but 50 percent new in its F154FA specification.
Via: NetCarShow
While emitting a deep turbo whistle and deep, throaty roar, it puts out 769 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque and has been Ferrari’s preferred engine since 2019. In the SF90 Stradale it is equipped with two electric motors for a. paired a total of 986 hp. Its best feature is the wall-effect strategy, which maximizes the available power over the entire speed range and only switches off at the red line of 8000 rpm.
5
Garbage: 1980 Ford 4.2-liter V8 – 119 hp
Via: Me Auctions
From 5 liters of Fury in 1979, Ford downsized its V8 to a 4.2 liter (255 Cu In) V8 in 1980. Most die-hard Mustang fans would prefer to forget, as it could only produce a measly 119 horsepower and 193 lb-ft of torque. It was also another victim of the fuel crisis and emissions regulations of the late 1970s; Fuel economy was the priority over performance.
Via: Me Auctions
It has been dubbed the worst V8 in the Mustang lineup, and it’s no surprise it only lasted two years. In addition to the poor performance values, the poor airflow on the engine heads, extremely tiny exhaust and intake valves and the more frequent chewing of the cylinder head gasket than many would have wanted were other major problems.
4th
Powerful: Ford Predator 5.2 liter engine 760 hp
Via: NetCarShow
The description of this V8 engine is simple; it is the most powerful production engine that Ford has ever built. This massive powerplant, code-named “The Predator”, was born out of a need for Ford to develop a V8 that could keep the GT500 competitive. It is a complete redesign of the Coyote engine from the ground up and is handcrafted by Ford engineers. In 2020 it was announced that the Predator engine could be ordered as a standalone unit – it costs a third of the car’s MSRP.
Via: FordAuthority
To safely produce the 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque, Ford added an extra layer of steel on the head gasket to avoid any bends that might occur. In addition, they used bearings made of copper alloys with a higher operating temperature to withstand the heavy loads.
3
Garbage: 1981 Cadillac 6.0-liter 8-6-4 cylinder deactivation V8 engine – 150 hp
The name 8-6-4 was shaped by the way the engine worked. This 6.0-liter (368-cu.in.) V8 could run on either eight, six or four cylinders thanks to a computer module. When cruising, the idea was that the computer module could shut off four cylinders and run on four, which would improve fuel economy. While it was clever in theory, when used on the street it was a disaster. The computer module sometimes took a long time to make a decision, resulting in a delayed response when the driver tried to overtake.
Via: Wikimedia Commons
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes it choked on excess fuel pumped during startup and sometimes it could cause premature detonations that eventually damaged the pistons. Drivers complained that operation on 4 and 6 cylinders was not going smoothly (not acceptable in a Cadillac) and with all the problems it turned out that the fuel economy benefit was very small. Cadillac tried and offered 13 programming updates, but gave up and discontinued it in 1984.
2
Powerful: Chevrolet 6.2 liter LT5 supercharged engine – 755 hp
In September 2021, GM discontinued this V8, which was only used in the 212-mph 2019 ZR1 Corvette. In particular, it was able to be ordered as a box motor for hot rod projects ($ 19,000) by buyers who recognized and appreciated its strengths. After just one year of production, it proves to be the most powerful GM engine with 755 ponies and 715 lb-ft of torque.
Via: Chevy
It was an upgrade of the more popular LT4 (650 hp) with an R2650 Twin Vortices 2.65 liter supercharger that replaced the 1.7 liter supercharger.
1
Garbage: 1981 Chevrolet 305 (5.0-liter) V8 -160 hp
Via: Me Auctions
1976 was the first year the 305 V8 – Chevy’s small-bore, long-stroke engine – was used. There are some mixed opinions among small V8 enthusiasts today. While they all agree that it sounds awesome, that ends the list of benefits.
Via: YouTube
As another victim of the emissions standard, it only made 180 hp in 1981 and consumed just as much as its bigger brother – the Chevy 350 Cu In V8. That being said, the 305 would be plagued by cracked heads or problems with blown head gaskets. The only reason the engine lived so long was parts availability; it shared the most with the 350 engine.
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About the author
Dennis Kariuki
(58 published articles)
Dennis Kariuki is a tech enthusiast who writes for Hotcars.com. He previously wrote for the.car. He likes to report on the connection between technology and cars. He’s also a big F1 fan. After working tirelessly through the week, you can be sure that on Sundays he is most likely enjoying and following the motorsport events.
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The post These are the 5 Most Powerful V8 Engines Ever Made (5 That Were Garbage) first appeared on monter-une-startup.
