In the early 1990 s, when the electric
revolution was still a twinkle in
Elon Musk’s eye, the 10 - cylinder engine
stood at the cutting edge of powertrain
tech. Having motivated Formula 1 racers
since 1989 (until 2006 ), a V- 10 was a way
for brands from Ford to Lamborghini to
add mystique to their lineups. But now
there’s just one on the market, and it’s
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V- 10 s have plenty of charm. Most are
naturally aspirated and make wonderful
noises, and many of them return stellar
performance numbers at the track. But
tastes change through the years. In the
past two decades, nearly every V- 10 has
been replaced by a smaller V-8, most of
which produce more power than the
10 -pots that came before.
Cases in point: The Dodge Viper’s
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it was a 400-hp 8 .0-liter—grew to a
massive 8 .4 liters and 645 horses before
Dodge discontinued it in 2 017. It was
surpassed by the Hellcat V-8, a super-
charged 6.2-liter that makes up to 797
horsepower and 707 pound-feet of
V-10, We
Hardly
Knew Ye
We understand why
automakers are abandoning
the 10-cylinder engine,
but that doesn’t mean we
have to like it.
torque. Similarly, with 430 horses
and 475 pound-feet, Ford’s new 7.3-
liter V-8 packs a bigger punch than
the Triton V- 10 that powered earlier
Super Duty trucks, Excursions,
and E-series vans. BMW replaced
the V- 10 in the M5 and M 6 with a
more potent twin-turbo V-8. And
while the Lexus LFA had no direct
successor, its V- 10 will undoubt-
edly be overshadowed by the twin-
turbo eight that we expect to power
Lexus’s next halo car, the LC F.
The Volkswagen Group has been
perhaps the greatest patron of the
10 - cylinder. But in 2014 , a plug-in-
hybrid V-8 powertrain made the
Porsche 918 Spyder—the succes-
sor to the V- 10 -powered Carrera
GT—the quickest car we’ve ever
tested. And the V- 10 has given wayThe VW Group’s 5. 2 - liter
V-10 is the last of its kind
for sale in U.S.-market
passenger cars. It makes
up to 631 horsepower and
44 2 pound-feet of torque.to twin-turbocharged V-6 and V-8
engines in the Audi S6 and S 8.
Advanced technologies have
indeed provided a replacement for
displacement. Today’s F1 innova-
tions have more to do with electric
motors and energy recovery than
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Now that the Viper engine is out
of production, the only V- 10 on
the market is the one in the Audi
R 8 and the Lamborghini Huracán.
Modern powertrains are interest-
ing and innovative, maybe even
revolutionary—a distinction the
V-10 can’t quite claim. But there is
something visceral and wonderfully
unusual about the best V- 10 s that
the whirring of an electric motor or
the torque surge of a turbo engine
simply can’t replace. —Noah JosephPASSENGER-VEHICLE 10-POTS THROUGH THE YEARS
22
Engine, Displacement, Horsepower (Models)
Viper, 8.0–8.4-L, 400 – 645 (Dodge/SRT Viper, Dodge Ram SRT-10)
Magnum V-10, 8.0-L, 300 –3 10 (Dodge Ram 2500/3500)
S85, 5.0-L, 500 (BMW M5, M6)
1LR-GUE, 4.8-L, 553 (Lexus LFA)
M80/ 01 , 5.7-L, 604 (Porsche Carrera GT)
- 2 FSI, 5. 2 -L, 4 29– 631 (Audi S6, S8, R8; Lamborghini Gallardo, Huracán)
Lamborghini V-10, 5.0-L, 4 93– 523 (Lamborghini Gallardo)
5.0 TDI, 5.0-L, 3 10 (Volkswagen Touareg)
Triton, 6.8-L, 305 –3 62 (Ford E-series, Excursion, F-series Super Duty)
MAY 2019 ~ CAR AND DRIVER2000
2010
2020
1990
1995
2005
2015Production YearsCHANGING TIDES