DriveTimes Five
The best V8s available today The mighty V8 is one of the most beloved engines in the world, with an undeniable charm and, of course, plenty of grunt. And that sound. Never forget that sound. Today we look at what we reckon are the five best V8s available
Ferrari F154
It first made a lower-key appearance in a car with the Prancing Horse on the sides in the California T, but the enlarged, more powerful version in the 488 is where Ferrari’s first turbocharged engine since the mighty F40 in 1987 is at its best. The 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 pumps out 493kW and 760Nm in the mid-engined supercar and sounds spectacular doing it. The move back to turbos worried a lot of Ferrari fans, but they needn’t have been concerned – the F154 howls like a banshee and is a proper Ferrari engine in every way imaginable. It’s also International Engine of the Year for 2016.
Mercedes-AMG M178
Although it seemed horrifying to some, the inevitable move down in size for Mercedes-AMG’s sizzling V8s hasn’t come at any loss of performance or aural excitement. While the mighty 6.2-litre naturallyaspirated V8 that gave AMG models like the C 63 their names was spectacular, the twin-turbo 3.9-litre M178 that first appeared in the AMG GT earlier this year and now also lurks in the C 63 is an incredible piece of kit. Flexible, powerful and capable of being surprisingly frugal if treated gently, the M178 also sounds savage, producing an incredible guttural roar that gives the impression of an engine many, many times bigger.
General Motors LS3
It’s not as powerful or hi-tech as the other engines on this list, but the venerable LS3 is still a deeply impressive engine. First developed for use in the Corvette in the US, it soon found its way over this side of the world in HSVs; since last year it has also done duty in the Holden Commodore SS. With 304kW of power and 570Nm of torque in the Commodore, it certainly pushes the last big Aussie sedan along at a quick rate, but the work the Holden’s engineers have put into making it sound belligerent is what allows it to truly shine in the SS.
McLaren M838T
Developed by McLaren and UK race engineering firm Ricardo, the 3.9-litre twin-turbo flat plane V8 is McLaren’s first ever road-car engine, with all its other models using engines from other manufacturers. While the M838T is inspiring in may ways, probably the most impressive thing about it is the staggering breadth of application it has in the McLaren range. Used in every current McLaren road car, it stretches from 368kW in the original 12C, right up to a staggering 674kW (with electric assistance) in the P1 hypercar. Each version has a remarkably different character, proving the sheer flexibility of this powerplant.
Chrysler Hellcat
Chrysler’s mighty 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat V8 demands to be in any ‘‘awesome V8’’ list simply because of its brilliantly old-school approach to big capacity and crazy power. But despite the fact that it produces an eye-watering 527kW of power and 880Nm of torque – making it the most powerful production engine ever jammed into a muscle car – it’s the fact that it is also so stupidly flexible and (almost) docile in daily use that makes it doubly impressive. Okay, so using more than quarter throttle in the wet sees you going sideways, but in the dry it’s remarkably usable and tractable. Plus it sounds incredible.