Engines are complicated systems, but the base function they perform is providing somewhere for gasoline to explode. This force is harnessed, camshafts are turned, and the rest is history. The bigger the explosion, the more power. But you need space for all that fuel.
Updated April 2022: Decorating America's most famous and beloved muscle and sports cars, the V8 has always been a symbol of sheer and unadulterated power. And while V8s are no longer the kings of power they used to be, better and more powerful ones are released every year. That's why we've updated this list with more extremely powerful V8 cars.
A V8 engine is a motor comprised of two banks of four inline cylinders. When looked at from the front, the motor looks like a "V," each bank of cylinders making up an arm of the letter. Usually, the cylinder banks are placed perpendicular to each other, but other angles of orientation are used for various reasons of performance and fitment.
In a V8, there are eight cylinders to blow up gasoline in. It's simple as that. Because of that, it makes a lot of power. Eight cylinders are pretty much the maximum you can have in an engine before it gets impractical. While V10s, V12s, and V16s have all existed and worked, they're fickle and gigantic. On the complete other spectra, we have electric cars that are starting to give gasoline-guzzling sports cars a run for their money.
With the V8 representing an ideal blend of cylinders and displacement, automakers from around the world have made it their mule of choice for generating insane amounts of horsepower. Entire race series are dedicated to cars with V8s, and even non-gearheads understand that a V8 entails performance. Put simply, V8s rock. Naturally-aspirated rumbling big-block American V8s are pitted up against shrieking low-displacement Euro twin-turbo creations. And some V8s are simply two engines welded together. Scroll down to see 20 of the most powerful V8 engines ever built.
20 Lexus RC F (467 HP)
Who knew Lexus cars were fast...well apart from the legendary LFA of course? The brand has been trying to break into North America's luxury car market for the last few decades, and the RC F is an extra piece of artillery in their assault. This 467 hp V8 is naturally aspirated, and Lexus has found an extra 51 hp over the standard RC V8 through engine-management trickery. It’s rear-wheel-drive and has paddle shifters and a V8, so why don’t the kids love it? The styling looks like a partially-melted Hot Wheels car, even if it's an attempt at looking quick and sporty. The grille alone is enough to make one feel a little uncomfortable. All this styling comes at a cost, with the RC F tipping the scales at over 3,781 lbs, and that's with the weight-saving Track Edition package equipped.
19 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Estate (503 hp)
Wagons are the best; we all just need to accept it, and they can be plenty powerful too. Mercedes's front end of the C-Class is a great piece of styling, and Merc has been making sexy wagons for decades. What they haven’t been doing for decades is putting 503 hp 5.5L Biturbo V8s in their wagons, let alone AMG-prepped units. AMG is an outfit based in Germany that breathes on Mercedes motors and makes them monsters. Every detail is addressed by hand, and the finish quality is unmatched. The cheeky little 63 numeration sets this car apart as idiotically fast. Compared to Mercedes' S65, the C63 models are lighter and 4-wheel-drive equipped. Ready to take the kids to school?
18 Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo (572 HP)
Not all powerful V8s are wrapped up in sporty packages. Some of them come delivered in hefty pickup trucks, and others are strapped to the front end of giant American muscle cars. Maserati has chosen to put theirs in a luxury sedan, instead of in their MC20 sports car. This car is meant to compete with Audis and stately Beemers, but what sets the Trofeo apart is that it has the same motor as the Ferrari 488. That’s right—this understated four-door is powered by Ferrari internals. Any sedan with twin turbos is super sick, and when it’s a Ferrari V8 getting the extra air, it’s even sexier. Fast cars are fun, and four doors are smart, so why not just smash them all together and make a Quattroporte? Thanks, Maserati.
17 Jaguar F-Type SVR (575 HP)
Not all Jags are green stately sleepers. Some come in a captivating orange, do laps of racetracks, and make almost 600 hp. This isn't your Grandpa's Jaguar. This has two superchargers and will be moving at 60 mph from a stop in 3.5 seconds.
The only problem is you can’t get it with a manual transmission, a true crime against honest gearheads everywhere. Jaguar knows that people who buy V8s like how V8s sound. On their website, you can even listen to the exhaust note before you order. Testers have measured the exhaust at an ear-splitting absolutely awesome 108 decibels. This isn’t a light car, but it'll run all the way up to 200 mph, with the help of active aero features and, of course, an angry crackling V8 engine.
16 Audi C7 RS6 Performance Avant (597 HP)
Yeah, baby. Stupid-fast wagons with almost 600 hp are a unicorn in the automotive world. Magical, allegedly mythical, and beautiful hot wagons float around the psyche of every gearhead. The Avant edition RS6 is magical and beautiful but happily not mythical. But it can be a felony to own one.
The RS6 is banned in the US for reasons mostly unknown... having almost 600 hp probably has something to do with it. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 uses forced induction to make a lot of power out of not a lot of motor. Keep in mind, at its core, it's still an Audi wagon, a car your dentist might drive—if your dentist likes getting up to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds.
15 Spyker C8 Preliator Spyder (600 HP)
Ever heard of the brand called Spyker? Europe is a weird place, with weird companies making weirdly expensive, weirdly powerful cars. If you've ever wanted a 600 hp mid-engined convertible, now you have it. This V8 is designed by the also-obscure Koenigsegg, and so details are vague. It’s a 5.0-liter and makes at least 600 hp. The owner of Koenigsegg has gone on record to say his motors will last for 200 years, so we suppose reliability is certain. You get one choice of transmission, so let's hope you're all comfy with a clutch. This is a boutique car, luxurious to the truest extent, but it packs a solid punch. Now, you can look exotic and exclusive in your boutique roadster while toasting any car that dares try to pass you in the right lane.
14 Porsche Panamera Turbo S (621 HP)
The Panamera had the potential to be a pimple on Porsche's otherwise stellar lineup. It’s a slightly awkward four-door, like a 911 with a very full stomach, an extra set of doors, and what are most certainly excessive amounts of horsepower. It seems four doors are the choice chassis to put hyper-tuned V8s in. No complaints, though—just an observation. Is this a supercar or a sedan or a fastback? Who cares? The first generation of these was hideous, but the 911 heritage shone through. The roofline has been figured out the second time around, and the performance stats are still staggering.
The 0-60 mph time is 2.6 seconds, and it has a top speed of just shy of 200 mph. But there’s a backseat, four doors, and trunk space. What a great world we live in!
13 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series (622 HP)
The Black Series badge is a gargantuan storm to be reckoned with, and when AMG gave the Mercedes-Benz SLS its Black Series treatment, it had a monstrous outcome. Mercedes fielded their SLSs in international GT3 racing, and exactly that has inspired them to carry over the technology to a road car.
The redline has been pushed up to 8,000 RPM, the camshafts have been modded, and the air-intake ducts have been widened. What makes this Black Series so cool is the attention to detail. The transmission is mounted 10 cm lower than stock for a low center of mass, and it's held in place with reinforced struts—ultra-fast, ultra-stiff, ultra-powerful, ultra-cool.
12 BMW M5 CS (626 HP)
BMWs are very unfortunate sleepers, as they're high-performance luxury vehicles with unbelievably basic styling. German efficiency? Lots of suits buy Beemers to stand out a little on their way to the office. Unfortunately, they forgot that everyone else on their floor had the same idea. Picking the M5 may make you stand out because you'll be at the office before anyone else every day—top parking priority guaranteed. Raises are optional. The M5 CS is an absolute monster, it makes use of the twin-turbo M63 V8, which at 4.4 liters is Beemer's most powerful ever power plant.
11 Cadillac CTS-V (640 hp)
This is the everyman's rocket sled. This is a Ferrari-conquering drag car, a Lotus-eating track ripper. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 propels this car into Jaguar and Mercedes territory, at a fraction of the cost. Cadillac has done all of us not-rich folks a favor and put a monster V8 in a mid-range sedan. Doubt this car's speed? It's dominated North America's premier GT racing series—The Pirelli World Challenge—every season it's competed.
Recently, the Cadillac race program had to start using the ATS as their race car because the newest generation CTS-V was too powerful to race. It's too fast for the track but cheap enough to seriously consider owning one day. And don’t even get us started on the wagon—slightly fewer horsepower but easily the best-looking Caddy ever made. Period.
10 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (650 HP)
Camaros have been powerful for a long time, even during their dismal spell during the '90s, when the entire design department went blind. The most recent Camaro comes with the furious 6.2-liter supercharged V8 found in the Corvette C7—good genes to be certain. What makes the ZL-1 awesome is the track-tuned package it comes with. American cars are only supposed to turn left, but this goes both ways really well. The carbon bits were designed in an F1 wind tunnel to actually help grip, and the suspension has been tirelessly tuned through Chevy’s race program. It’s super cool that this monster costs less than a base Porsche 911. It’s a big lovable V8 placed in a tidy and tight package. Two, please.
9 McLaren 675LT (666 hp)
The carbon-fiber “monocell” this car is built around weighs 75kg. You probably weigh more than the central member of this car's chassis. And you don’t have a 666 hp twin-turbo V8 to power you. You also aren’t a car. But the 675LT certainly is, and it’s a great car. The LT is an homage to the “long tail” McLarens, which blitzed Le Mans in the late '90s, taking the overall win in 1995 in one of the wettest Le Mans 24-Hours on record. This much horsepower from a 3.8-liter engine seems like a typo, but McLaren has put a laundry list of trick parts into this motor to attain such stupid horsepower. Lightweight connecting rods, a titanium exhaust, and bespoke camshafts are some changes McLaren has made to achieve maximum power from their engine. And it seems to have worked.
8 Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray Z06 (670 HP)
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The C8 is already a quick car, its base model already puts out 490 hp and gets up to 60 mph in just under three seconds. Corvette decided to reintroduce the "Stingray" model name in 2014, bringing the line back after 46 years out of production., and today the "Stingray" name remains legendary, and Corvette didn't want to let fans down. Thankfully, they didn’t. 670 hp has been coaxed from a 5.5-liter supercharged V8. To go with the 670 ponies, there are 460 lb-ft of torque as well. Corvette spent the rest of its efforts on making the Stingray lighter to maximize the power-to-weight ratio. It just so happens the carbon rockers and roof panels look super sweet, too.
7 Ferrari 488 Pista (711 HP)
Ferraris go fast—we all know that. But the 488 Pista is the Italian stable's take on the high horsepower V8 Supercar. Like any good supercar, the motor is behind the driver, meaning the weight of the V8 is nicely centered in the car. The Pista gets the 488 numeration from the eight 488cc cylinders that comprise the monstrous twin-turbo Ferrari F154CB.
At 3.9-liter, this motor is no bathtub, but the Italians have talked this thing into revving up to 8,000 RPM. This means the 488 Pista is a personal best for Ferrari in two regards; it broke the highest power and torque output per liter of any Ferrari ever when it was released, but eventually, Ferrari one-upped themselves with the SF90.
6 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (730 HP)
Remember that Black Series badge we spoke about earlier in regard to the SLS, well here's its latest application, the GT. The standard GT model from Mercedes-AMG is an underrated sports car, but once the Black Series was introduced it redefined supercars' possibilities. The GT was now equipped with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 capable of producing 730 hp, and every single bit of it is sent to the rear wheels. Now couple that extraordinary power figure with retuned suspension, a massive wing, and other well-engineered aerodynamic components, and you're left with the current record holder for Nurburgring lap times of production vehicles.
5 Saleen S7 Twin Turbo (750 HP)
Before we address how powerful this car is, it’s important to mention that this was designed with input from the legendary Ray Mallock, a British touring car team owner who's dominated any racing discipline he's entered. The firm's attention to detail and build quality is world-beating, and the Saleen is one of their more outrageous projects. This car has a 7.0L twin-turbo Ford V8 in it. That explains why the body on this car looks more like a plane's fuselage.
The 0-60 time is an eye-watering 2.8 seconds. As if this rocket wasn’t fast enough, Saleen issued a competition package in 2006 that allowed owners to boost their cars' horsepower to a ludicrous 1,000 hp. Crazy stuff.
4 Ford Mustang GT500 (760 HP)
Ah, the Mustang, an American Classic. This car started the iconic pony-car class of American cars, leading to dozens of affordable and powerful sporty American cars being created. The most recent generation of the Mustang GT500 does the model name justice. The Predator V8 was designed to match the power output of class competitors but with a smaller displacement and lower weight.
Every detail of this motor has been tuned to create as much power as possible, and the 760 hp Ford has gotten out of a supercharged 5.2-liter is seriously impressive. As if going fast in a straight line wasn’t fun enough, the newest Mustang is underpinned with a brand-new independent rear-suspension system. Now, you don’t have to slow down for the corners.
3 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (840 HP)
This looks fast. And it is. Because 8940 hp makes it fast. Laws should be in place to stop cars from leaving the factory with this much power. But they aren’t. And it’s great. Stock, this car will do a quarter-mile run in as little as 9.58 seconds. What? These HEMI V8s are marvels of engineering, and they're the product of a huge budget and expert technicians left to run wild. It’s a powerful combo. There are no fancy suspension bits to go with this idiotic amount of power, but there are fender flares. Who needs handling when you look this good and go this fast? Go do burnouts in this because it's what you're supposed to do, and our own Michael Van Runkle had the pleasure of reviewing one for us.
2 Ultima Evolution (1,021 HP)
Ultima is a lesser-known lightweight sports car manufacturer located in Britain, and what they lack in size, they make up for in power. This teensy go-kart weighs just 2,100 lbs, but that didn't prohibit them from strapping a nasty supercharged 6.8-liter LS V8 to its frame. That engine produces more than 1,000 hp, and when it's transferred to the wheels, and if your wheels don't explode on impact, the Ultima Evolution could reach 60 mph from stationary in as little as 2.3 seconds. When will powerful engines become too powerful?
1 Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut (1,280 HP)
Koenigsegg hasn't been around nearly as long as other hypercar manufacturers like Bugatti and Ferrari, but they have proven their worth time and time again, take the Gemera, for example. But for this list, we'll be directing our attention to their most potent V8-powered product yet, the Jesko Absolut. When the Jesko is given "everyday fuel," it produces a staggering 1,280 hp, but when it's fed E85, that number rises to 1,600. They have refined the possibilities of what a V8 engine can do by implementing some innovations like a crankshaft that only weighs 27.6 lbs—the lightest crankshaft ever found in a V8-powered production car. Koenigsegg's future is bright, and we can't wait to see what they shock us with next.