The 11 Best V8 Cars Available Right Now

We like engines. We like 1.0L Ford Ecoboosts, we like Aston Martin V12s, and we like Madza rotaries. Being hot-blooded Americans, we have a soft spot for the V8, however (and the crazy Cadillac V16s of yesteryear). There's something about how V8s are smooth, but not too smooth, that gives them a wonderful character. Between that and the ample potential for power, it's a winning formula.

Some are predicting that CAFE regulations will soon bring about the death of the V8, but that hasn't happened yet. Let's celebrate and appreciate what we have with The 11 Best V8 Cars Available Right Now.

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Horsepower: 470
Torque (lb-ft.): 470
Price: $49,450

We're big fans of the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 for being the last of the classic RWD, V8 American sedans, and the 300 SRT-8 represents that kind of 'Murican excess better than all the rest. It's powerful, it's luxurious, it has plenty of attitude, and yes, it does have a hemi. And yes, it was deserving of a spot to make this list an awkward 11 instead of 10 .

Horsepower: 556
Torque (lb-ft.): 551
Price: $64,515

Cadillac surprised the world with the CTS-V. The company had previously slipped into making nothing but nursing home specials, and then suddenly there was this car that was annihilating every other hot sedan in the world. Bob Lutz even hosted a contest in which people were invited to try and beat the CTS-V around a track in any other performance seda, and they all failed. It's a beast.

Horsepower: 460 (with performance exhuast)
Torque (lb-ft.): 460
Price: $51,000

The Corvette has, for decades, in many ways been the standard bearer for the American V8. The LS series engines are smooth, powerful, and reliable, and the American V8 is what has allowed scrappy underdog Americans like the Corvette C5.R to take on Europe's finest metal in races like Le Mans. The sleek new C7 Corvette carries on this proud tradition.

Horsepower: 583
Torque (lb-ft.): 479
Price: $201,500

No, the SLS AMG isn't as fast as the competition from Ferrari and McLaren, but it's infinitely more elegant, and that AMG V8 roars in a way that's really quite exhilarating. It's fast, it's beautiful, it's exotic, and it has gullwing doors that are rooted in history, not tastless modifications. Oh, and there are also GT and "Black Series" models that are even more insane.

Horsepower: 662
Torque (lb-ft.): 631
Price: $54,800

Shelby Mustangs have always been great bearers of large V8 engines, but the GT500 currently holds the distinction of bearing the world's most powerful production V8. That's right, this supercharged V8 puts out a grand total of 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque. We'd guess that GT500 owners go through a set of tires every other week.

Horsepower: 451
Torque (lb-ft.): 443
Price: $62,750

This engine is easily one of the craziest and most frenzied we've ever played with. It's incredibly responsive, very powerful, and explosively powerful.

Horsepower: 630
Torque (lb-ft.): 604
Price: $85,000

The Lucra LC470 is, more or less, the exact car we would have designed if we had the means to make whatever we fancied, especially now that it can be had with the C63 AMG's engine. The acceleration is on par with a Bugatti Veyron, the handling is on par with a Lotus Exige, and the sound is unparralleled.

Horsepower: 490
Torque (lb-ft.): 460
Price: $92,000

The F-Type is already going down as a classic, and the V8 version is, of course, going to be the one to have. Why? Just listen and you'll know.

Horsepower: 616
Torque (lb-ft.): 443
Price: $239,400

Just do us a favor and listen to the first twenty seconds of the video above. Listen to that gorgeous sound. Obviously, some of that is from McLaren's brilliant sport exhaust (which spits out so high because the engineers didn't want to interfere with the suspension), but it's also coming from a twin-turbo, dry-sump V8, good for 207 mph. We've driven this a couple times, and it's one of the most fun cars we've ever driven. Power at a snap is pure adrenaline to the veins.

Horsepower: 562
Torque (lb-ft.): 398
Price: $233,509

Ferrari's much-beloved 458's best feature is surely the engine. It revs to a screaming 9,000 rpms, and has the world's best specific output for any naturally aspirated engine (and that was before they kicked it up even more with the Speciale). This is one of those engines that we wish we could drop into every car on the planet.

Morgan Eva GT with Ferrari V8? Yes.
Superformance GT40 with Ferrari V8? Heresy, but yes.
Honda Fit with Ferrari V8? Really stupid, but yes.

Horsepower: 1,140
Torque (lb-ft.): 885
Price: $2,500,000

No matter how much we hate trying to spell "Koenigsegg" we keep writing about this car because it's absolutely amazing. It has an estimated top speed of 273 mph and does 0-120 mph in under eight seconds all due to a twin-turbo 5.0L V8 that puts out 1,140 horsepower.