It's always a beautiful thing when different automakers come together to build a car, especially when they're from different continents. Over the last century, the combination of elegant European design and big, powerful American V8 engines was, for many European automakers, a winning formula that resulted in some of the most iconic vehicles in history.
Many European automakers, particularly the smaller brands, built beautiful chassis and then slotted brawny American V8s from Ford, Chrysler, or Chevrolet under their hoods either as a way to make their cars go faster or to avoid the cost of creating their own engines. The result was beautiful European-bred sports cars with thumping American hearts, 10 of which are as follows.
10 Jensen Interceptor
Although the Jensen Interceptor was not made in the US, many car enthusiasts consider it one of the best muscle cars ever made, mostly thanks to its powerful engine. Built-in the 60s, the Interceptor was initially powered by a Chrysler 6.3-liter V8 engine that produced 335 hp and was later replaced with a 7.2-liter V8 producing 330 hp.
Even though the Interceptor was a four-seat grand tourer, its powerful engines would allow it to hit a top speed of 135 mph. To make the most of this power, Jensen became the first automaker to offer a four-wheel-drive performance car in its FF model.
9 AC Brooklands Ace
The AC Brooklands Ace is one of those cars that not many people know about but really should. In the 90s, English automaker AC decided to get its old team back together to build the Brookland Ace, bringing together renowned English artisans and a big V8 engine. The engine was a 4.9-liter supercharged Ford V8 that pumped out 325 hp, allowing it to go from 0-62 mph in 6.2 seconds.
Sadly, AC messed up the car's styling and slapped it with an ambitious price tag of around £80,000, leaving potential buyers running for the hills. Unsurprisingly, the car failed and bankrupted AC.
8 Allard J2
Manufactured by Allard in the early 50s, the J2 is one of the earliest British cars to feature an American engine. The standard J2 in Britain came with the same 3.6-liter flathead V8 engine used in the 1947 Ford Pilot and would deliver 85 hp.
British buyers also had the option of a 4.4-liter Mercury V8, producing 110 hp. The J2 was also exported to the US without an engine, allowing American buyers to install their choice engine. Only 90 J2s were built before it was replaced with the Allard J2X.
7 Iso Rivolta Grifo
After building fridges and scooters for post-war Italy, Iso decided it had made enough money to build the car that would compete against more established Italian automakers such as Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. The result of Iso's ambition was the Grifo, which not only featured a sleek coupe design from Bertone but also had a 5.4-liter Chevrolet V8 engine producing 300 hp.
The powerful engine, coupled with the car's weight of just 3,200 lbs, allowed the Grifo to attain a 68 mph speed in first gear and a top speed of 145 mph. As the Grifo moved through different iterations from 1965 to 1974, it used several American engines, including a 5.8-liter Ford 351 V8 and a 7.4-liter Chevrolet 454 V8.
6 De Tomaso Pantera
Just like the Jensen Interceptor, the De Tomaso Pantera was another well-known European car with an American influence. Introduced in 1971, the Pantera was a swooping, mid-engine sports car that was the brainchild of Argentinian entrepreneur and racer Alejandro De Tomaso. The first models came with a 5.8-liter Ford Cleveland V8 engine that produced 330 hp.
The high torque produced by the American engine made the car less demanding to drive in urban areas than locally built cars since drivers didn't have to change gears as much. The Pantera ended up being De Tomaso Automobili's most popular car with more than 7,000 sold over its 24-year production run.
5 AC Cobra
The AC Cobra, or Shelby Cobra, as it's commonly referred to as, is the archetypal Anglo-American hybrid and one of the most iconic cars in history. The Cobra idea was born when retired American racecar driver and car designer Carroll Shelby contacted British automaker AC asking if they would build a car that would accept an American V8 engine.
Since AC was in desperate need of a new engine supplier, it agreed as long as a suitable engine would be found. Facing steep competition from Corvette, Ford jumped at the opportunity and provided Shelby with a 4.2-liter Windsor V8 engine that helped the Cobra become the fastest accelerating road car at the time.
4 Gordon-Keeble
The Gordon-Keeble had it all; a glass fiber body styled by Bertone, an advanced chassis, and an American V8 with a four-speed manual gearbox. Although the concept car had a 288 CID Chevrolet engine, the production version came with an upgraded 5.4-liter Chevrolet 327 V8 engine that produced 300 hp.
The car should have been immensely successful in the 60s if not for one flaw: its high price. Only 99 were produced between 1957 and 1964 before the company eventually went out of business.
3 Monteverdi High Speed
Even though Switzerland was not known as a place where performance cars with large engines were built, the Monteverdi High Speed was meant to be the ultimate Swiss car that would compete with the fastest Ferraris from the late 60s. The Swiss automaker decided to use a massive 7.2-liter Chrysler Magnum 440 V8 engine that produced 375 hp in order to achieve this.
Over its 10-year production run, the High Speed was offered in four-door saloon and two-door coupe forms. Only a few High Speeds were made before the automaker closed shop in 1984. Jay Leno currently owns one of the surviving Monteverdi High-Speed cars.
2 Facel Vega
After World War II, France found itself short of luxury car manufacturers. Noticing a gap in the market, the founder of Facel, Jean Daninos, decided to produce the Vega FVS in 1954. The first version was fitted with a 4.5-liter Chrysler Hemi V8 engine that produced 180 hp.
The engine was later upgraded in 1958 to a 5.8-liter Chrysler V8, producing 325 hp. The final version of the Facel Vega, the HK500, came with a 6.2-liter Chrysler V8 with 360 hp and a top speed of 147 mph.
1 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada
The 5300 GT Strada was a sports car manufactured by Bizzarrini in the 60s. It was designed by ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and adopted a front-engine and rear-wheel-drive layout. The initial model was powered by a 5.4-liter Chevrolet 327 V8 engine producing 365 hp, allowing it to attain a top speed of 174 mph.
Later models were fitted with a larger 7.0-liter Chevrolet V8 engine with more power. Being one of the fastest cars made in the 60s, the Bizzarrini Strada finished first in its class and ninth overall in the 1965 Le Mans.