Almost no longer produced: the best cars with a V8 engine

The V8 configuration is often used in engines with large displacements. This is an eight-cylinder engine with a V-shaped arrangement of eight cylinders in two rows of four, and pistons rotating one common crankshaft. Experts say that it is currently difficult to find a high-quality and reliable car with such an engine.

Even the Mercedes-AMG C63 is switching to a hybrid four-cylinder engine. Given that more and more manufacturers are choosing low-power engines, Autocar offers to remember the legends and publishes a rating of the best cars with V8s.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Aston Martin's 5.3-liter V8 engine made its debut back in 1968, linking this new V8 era to previous models that used an inline six-cylinder engine. It started out with 315 horsepower, which was enough to accelerate the DBS from 0 to 100 km per hour in 6 seconds. Soon, the V8 Vantage's power increased to 438 horsepower. Unusually, the engine started out with fuel injection, but in mid-1973 switched to carburetors.

Aston produced about 4,500 cars with this engine, including the Bulldog concept hypercar with a centrally located V8.

Audi R8

The Audi R8 was a sensation when it was introduced in 2007. Much of the original R8's appeal came from its supercharged 4.2-liter V8 engine, borrowed from the RS4. With 414 hp and manual transmission as standard, it revved, sounded, and drove great. More importantly, this all-aluminum 32-valve engine was powered by variable valve timing, and many felt that its lightness made the R8 a more nimble car than its V10 counterparts.

Bentley Arnage T

Developed by Rolls-Royce in the 1950s, the V8 that became the Arnage's engine is a clear lesson in engineering excellence and evolution. In 2002, the Arnage T already had 450 horsepower thanks to twin turbochargers. This made it the most powerful Bentley ever built. The latest version of the 6.75-liter V8 used in the Mulsanne Speed had 530 hp and acceleration in 4.8 seconds.

BMW M5

The BMW M5 is powered by a 5-liter V8 with 394 hp, which makes the acceleration to 100 km in 5.3 seconds. The 4941 cc 32-valve alloy V8 was a technical demonstration of power from BMW, incorporating a wired throttle body and separate throttle bodies. Known as the S62, the engine was also the first to feature the VANOS dual variable valve timing and was the most advanced variant BMW produced at the time.

Cadillac CTS-V

The combination of Cadillac's sophistication and luxury with the enormous power of a V8 led to the CTS-V line of cars. The manufacturer used a simple V8 with two valves per cylinder, starting with a 5.7-liter unit with 400 hp in 2004. It later moved to a 6.2-liter supercharged engine with 640 hp.

While some may have ridiculed the simple design of this aluminum V8 engine, it has proven to be durable and reliable.

Chevrolet Corvette

The early Corvettes were offered with inline six-cylinder engines, but it was the small block V8 that became the foundation of Chevrolet's sports car dynasty. There are also big-block models with engines up to 7 liters, but most enthusiasts want the smaller unit, whose history stretches from 1954 to 2003. This makes it one of the production engines with the longest service life.

Among the more unusual versions of the Corvette's small-block V8 is the LT5 engine, which used a double overhead camshaft from Lotus for the ZR-1 model. This four-valve-per-cylinder engine initially provided 385 hp and then increased to 405 hp. It was produced from 1990 to 1995.

Daimler SP250

The Daimler SP250 "Dart" was a sales failure: only 2,650 cars were sold in the five years between 1959 and 1964. But if you can look beyond the styling, you'll see a great, compact V8 engine. Developed by Edward Turner (1901-1973), who was responsible for some of Triumph's finest motorcycle engines, the 2548cc iron-block V8 used a single center camshaft and short pushrods. It produced 140 hp, which gave the SP250 decent enough speed that some police departments ordered them as high-speed patrol cars.

If Daimler had perhaps installed the larger 4561 cubic inch V8 with 220 hp from the Majestic Major, it could have achieved the desired US sales for the SP250.

Dodge Challenger.

The Challenger Hellcat Redeye is available as a street drag racer with 797 hp from its 6.2-liter V8. If the Redeye sounds too much for your daily driving needs, Dodge also offers a standard Hellcat with a reduced output of 717 hp. Whichever one you choose, you will enjoy the third-generation Hemi V8.

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