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6 of the Most Exciting Engines We’ve Experienced
In a humdrum world filled with turbo-two-liter-powered everything, we think it’s important to celebrate those engines that still give us chills when they come to mind long after we’ve interacted with them. Owning a very good indeed 2.0-turbo-powered Acura Integra Type S and a much more laid-back 455 Buick, I can attest that while the little four-pot is lively, the burbly V-8 beats it on character every time.
In talking through our favorites, we made a requirement that we had to have experienced our choice in some way, so this list isn’t merely a best-of in concept. There’s no shortage of great engines out there, and we’re but a handful of people, so sound off on the engine that pulled at your heartstrings the most—and the story of why—in the comments below.
Italian V-8 Goodness
I’ve driven exactly two Ferraris in my life—both on the same day, way back in 2004. One was a 612 Scaglietti, and I’d love to say its smooth V-12 was simply unforgettable, the best engine I’ve ever experienced. But I drove it in traffic, and once I did get to anything resembling a fun road, I was stuck behind a line of semitrucks, with an endless double-yellow ahead of us.
Then I hopped in the new F430, out in the wilds of central Oregon, and there was no traffic, no semis, nothing to prevent me from standing on it. So I stood on it. You grow up around enough Detroit V-8s, you just kind of assume you know what a V-8 sounds like. But the wail of that 490-hp thing over my shoulder, the forward thrust it produced, even now I can still picture the smile plastered to my face. — Stefan Lombard
427 Chevy
“Hang on, I’m gonna get on it.” The split second I had to look around the interior for something to grab yielded nothing. The car’s nose shot skyward, pinning me to my seat. I’d heard and felt the reverberations of big-blocks from outside cars before, but this was the first OH This Is What Power Feels Like moment of my young life. The 1931 Model A we were riding in, dubbed “Rat’s Nest,” was my Uncle John’s most prized possession. He’d crammed a bored-out 427 Chevy and Muncie four-speed in it, and the result was utterly bonkers. I’ve come across “better” engines since then, but you never forget your first. — Eddy Eckart
Flat-Six Love
There are many different ways I could go with this, but my mind immediately went to the 4.0-liter, naturally aspirated flat-six that sits up the rear of the Porsche 911 GT3. I can remember specifically driving a 2018 model year car while at another publication. My stint in it was brief—back then, I was merely a gopher helping to facilitate the logistics of a large test for more senior staffers—but the first time I got that tachometer north of 8K, the sound and experience became ingrained in my psyche forever. (That engine, by the way, still had another 1000 rpm to go before redline.)—Nate Petroelje
Dirt-Track 400
For the first couple of years in my dirt-track racing days, I didn’t have the horsepower. That’s why I wasn’t winning. The almost-stock 6.6-liter (400 cubic-inch) small block V-8 in the 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle did its best, but it was often thwarted by the Turbo 400 automatic transmission which, even though I had it in second gear, would unexpectedly shift into third, usually right in the middle of the turn. (Yes, I know there is a fix to keep the transmission in second, but automatic transmissions have their secrets, and I had no one to whisper them in my ear.) So we saved and scrimped, and I bought another ’73 Chevelle, this one a proven winner, with a chassis and an engine that were legal, but oh-so barely. It was the sweetest sound, that engine accelerating on the straights, or simply listening to its lumpy idle. Just as I was getting used to it, I changed jobs, and there was no way we would be able to take that car, plus the old 400-powered car, and still another V-8 Chevelle parts car I’d acquired from Texas to the new job in Michigan, so I had a heartbreaking dime-on-the-dollar fire sale since I had to get out of town fast. Because of my job, I have driven and raced cars, ridden motorcycles, and flown airplanes with some wonderful engines, but there’s nothing like the sound and feel of your engine. Oh, and later on I cracked the code as to why I was scarcely a mid-pack racer then: Turns out I just suck as a dirt-track driver. — Steven Cole Smith
Lambo V-12
Giotto Bizzarrini’s V-12, especially as fitted to the Lamborghini Miura. What’s most surprising is that such a massive motor feels so… fizzy. Peak power is close to 8000 rpm, and when the Weber carbs start their feeding frenzy, the revs rise in an instant. The soundtrack is operatic, and click-clacking through the gated gearbox is pure theater. This recipe was refined, reaching its peak with the Diablo, and Lamborghinis have never quite been the same since the original V-12’s demise. It’s a rare privilege to have experienced it. — Nik Berg
Viper ACR V-10
Some of you may be shocked that my favorite engine of all time is not an inline-six. I cannot deny the tingle dashing up and down my spine every time I drive a Viper. To me, the most impressive and darling version of Chrysler’s V-10 is the one nestled between the front wheels of the Viper’s swan snake song, the 2016–17 ACR. Eight. Point. Four. Liters. Eight point four! 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, delivered with the force of a sledgehammer and the anger of a spurned lover. The noises it makes are satanic. The X-brace Dodge bolted over it looks like it requires two operators with keys to simultaneously unlock, like a nuclear weapon. I usually prefer cars and engines that prioritize refinement, but anyone in audible range of a Viper is commanded to attention when it clears its throat, let alone shouts. Character? Gobs of it. — Eric Weiner
The Briggs & Stratton V-twin in my Cub Cadet is really sweet. It shoulda made this list.
Kohler makes a mean V-twin as well.
I’ve had two 26 HP Kohlers, one in my current ZeroTurn Kuboto, s125, best mower I’ll ever have… lol…and my old Craftsman clinker. Both were excellent…..overhead valves and all. Easy to service too.,
I agree as I have a Kohler in my Ariens Apex.
My Deere has a Kawasaki Vtwin and it does the job
That Kawasaki is made in the USA. Now the Briggs and Kohler are shipping many of theirs in from China. When I had my shop and sold commercial mowers customers would ask what engine I recommended I would tell them the American made. They were surprised when I said “THE KAWASAKI”
Is that the twin cylinder flat head one you are speaking of? Keith
I have never met a Briggs and Stratton that was worth a bucket of warm spit. Koller, sure. Wisconsin, yes. Honda? The best of them all
I have been lucky to experience many great engines.
The one that had really surprised me was the Ecotec 2.0 I had with the GM tune. It was a blast to drive as it had 300 HP at 23 PSI of boost.
I’m a V8 guy but to get so much low end power from such a small engine was amazing.
I’m a V8 guy too, but you’re right, the turbo charged 2.0 in the Cobalt SS 2009-10 was amazing. The earlier supercharged ver. was good too.
I’ll add that anyone who hasn’t experienced being behind the wheel of a rotary powered vehicle, give it a go. Those engines are just so much fun and very disorienting compared to a piston engine. They give VERY different feedback.
I agree
Had an RX2 with a 4 speed. Had it to 130 indicated once. Was still pulling, but I chickened out at that point. Cool little car, crappy gas mileage.
I’ve always been so impressed and enamored with not only the concept of the rotary engine, but it’s implementation and things like the RX seven and the NSX and the fact that it’s able to tick both efficiency and effectiveness boxes at the same time, an extremely rare feat in any field of engineering,.Someday, who knows? Though I am perfectly happy with my 70 GTX with a 440… Now that is a lumpy idle!!
I had a 1981 RX7, and that motor was amazing. Nothing below around 4000 rpm, but after that it got crazy right up to the 7000rpm redline. And with a good set of tires, it handled like it was on rails, almost perfectly balanced front to rear.
Check out Seth Hensler’s rotary CJ3A. He has a bunch of videos online. It’s cool. I second the Viper motor. When I worked on Viper, one of my colleagues described it like driving an old tractor at low speeds. To me, it was a fun car to putter around in, and also fun to drive fast. We worked on the last gen, and felt fortunate to have the ability to turn on the traction control. I’m sure it saved me many times. I had a 396 Nova for many years, and there is nothing like the sound of a V8. The 396 has the same stroke as a 427, and mine happened to be overbored, resulting in 410 ci. I loved listening to that engine sing. My current Nova is a ’63 with a 350 and maybe it’s because it has the same mufflers, but it sounds almost exactly the same at full song.
A common “396” problem, at least with the 1965 396 Corvettes, was their tendency to overheat.
The common problem was bad radiators and poor fans on most big blocks. Knew they were generally fine but as they age or as you build them they make more heat and few modify the cooling.
I love the expertise shared in many of these comments. I submit several are from us retired folks who love cars. Yes, at least as far as Corvettes go, over time radiators and heater cores rusted and hoses failed. I had a ‘74 small block Corvette with 60k miles on the clock that overheated on the interstate and blew the top hose off the engine. In an emergency fix I had to buy a general use “flexible” hose with the coiled spring inside. I made it home another 50 miles but the spring in the hose had been sucked into the radiator. My friend had a new Nassau Blue ‘65 396 Corvette Coupe that would turn the 1/4 mile in the 13s. Although less than 2 years old and low mileage it would overheat on a warm day in city driving.
Wasn’t that the year of the 425hp (cough) (cough) 396?
It’s hard for me to not pick my Pontiac 455 for it’s rumble and huge torque-iness, but the engine that really grabbed my imagination was a big journal 302 with what I was told was a 30/30 cam out of a Z28. I got it when I bought a ’66 Chevelle SS 396 car (for $900!) in 1972. It was fine in that car, and I got in plenty of trouble without, but I longed to get a 396 and traded the engine to my brother-in-law. He dropped into a Sunbeam Alpine with tubular frame, straight axle, and Olds rear end to make a gasser drag car. In that lightweight car, the 302 found its own Nirvana. We had to slip the clutch or it’s just wheelie down the strip. Actually had to go to narrower slicks as we had too much bite. The lumpy cam made it shake at idle, but when it was stabbed, it roared like a much bigger displacement motor. And it wound out forever. That car was QUICK but scary. I’ve had lots of great street motors and several fun race engines, but that little SBC made an impression on me that’s still active over 50 years later.
Would love to have experienced that 302/Sunbeam combo!
Wheelbase was too short, especially with the nose up stance with the tube axle – light as it was it could really get squirrely at speed. But man, when you got the tire pressures and weight distribution right and the track was sticky, and wind, temp, and other factors were all lined up, it was a rush. Problem was, all those things only happened once out of maybe 12 or 15 runs!
B-T-W, the name of the car was The SonicBeam, and it lived up to that name!
If you’ve got photos, would you be willing to share? eeckart@hagerty.com, no worries if not! Have a good weekend!
Wasn’t it the Sunbeam Tiger?
Nope. The Alpine originally had a 4-banger. The Tiger upgraded to a Ford 289 V-8.
I think the Tiger was first available with a 260 Ford V/8?
From Wiki – Most of them had the 260. They only put 289s in the last production year and only built 633 of them. Production ceased when Chrysler bought the firm.
Yes.
Nope! 260 from FORD..
I would like to insert the 428 Pontiac here. We race many of these and they were great once you put forged pistons in them. Even with a stock Pontiac ram air cam you could dip into the 12 second range on pump gas.
Even with two broken ring lands and a stock auto with 308 gear through the mufflers we got a 14 flat with no compression on two cylinders.
Classmate had a ‘69 Gran Prix with a 428 HO and 4:10 special ordered. His uncle owned a Pontiac dealer in the Galveston area. Gay Pontiac I believe it was. Very fast stock boulevard bomb! Lil thirsty though, maybe 10 mpg on a good day.
I also vote for the Chevy 302 small block in the ‘67-69 Z28 Camaros. The combination of 11:1 compression, 30-30 solid cam, aluminum high rise intake topped with a 780 cam DZ Holley and factory built with forged internals makes for a race engine that got released to a few street cars due to SCCA Trans Am regulations that a minimum of 500 be built. I’ve enjoyed it’s 7,000 rpm capabilities for years and with the right gears it will surprise much bigger engine cars, and when it gets into high rpm’s over 6,500 it makes an incredible sound. The “mouse that roars” is a good description.
I agree with this although my experience has been with the 350 ci version from 70-72.
You mentioned one of the lamest 2.0L engines on the market today, with all due respect. The Ford Cosworth RS 200 Evo? 4g63? K20A2? Straight 6 monsters? 2JZ? RB26? A big cammed V8 is awesome, but cmon.
I have big V8 experience and love but I’ll submit for consideration something different: my brother’s Honda CBX which I’ve borrowed extensively. The visual impact of that air cooled inline six is my favorite thing about it but the 9.5K redline and Cessna sound don’t hurt one bit.
No 426 hemi?
To fast to race, don’t that say it all ?
Most have never driven one.
The 426 Hemi and the Ford 427 cammer should be in there
Ford 390 with Holly 4 barrel
Had several kamback Vegas. Kenny bell stuffed 231 v6. Gt setup, short sticky tires. Ran like a lizard in the hot sun
I worked for Ford and the FE engines were tough but above all smooth and quiet. A real nice engine. I have a 1966 T BIrd with a 390. It’s got 353,000 miles on it and believe it or not never even had the valve covers off and burns no oil. I changed the oil every 3,000 religiously. Never had a lift tick
Agree. Had the 352, 361, 390 and the 428. Only thing I didn’t like was the weight of the intake manifolds!
Merc 410 with a cam set up for torque pulling a trailer loaded with my Oliver 77 to the tractor pulls, a gas engine that pulled a trailer like it was a diesel and sounded good while going down the highway
The old saying: There’s no replacement for displacement is something I’ve experienced in my car ventures. It’s (torque) what pins you to seat when you floor the gas pedal. While I do appreciate the high revving small blocks, the thunder from a big block with 3” pipes still commands a head turn. Still doing it in my 66 Chevelle SS running a ZZ 427!
I will always have a soft spot for the old 5.0 in a Fox body with a pair of headers, flow master h pipe and turn down tips. No matter how bad a mood I was in everytime I fired them up and put my foot down on the gas it cheered me up and made me forget about my problems atleast for a little while. Even though I had big stereos in all of them I rarely turned them up because I loved the natural bass of the engine more the the bass coming out of the subs.
So, big displacement, normally aspirated, scared myself silly, right?… Yamaha V-Max
I love high revving natural aspirated engines like the Lexus LFA V10, the current and outgoing Lexus V8 like in my IS 500 or boosted straight sixes like in the Supra Turbo but I also love the sound of a flat four turbo Subaru or a flat 6 like in a Porsche 911 or a big lumpy cam in a big block 454. I’m all over the place in terms of sound. Modern cars with fart pop overrun tunes are annoying though.
426 HEMI
The twin turbo 4.8L V8 in my Porsche Panamera Turbo S has a great sound!