cars with iconic engines
02-07-2015, 11:18 PM
#1
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cars with iconic engines
Drove up to Charlotte yesterday in our GT3, not far, as i live just south of the city in SC. I got to thinking about engines that just "made" the cars in which they were installed. Like our cars, as just about every post on this forum mentions the Mezger engine, how it defines the GT3 cars.
So as i moved thru traffic, on my way to a 13 hour shift, I tried to recall every powerplant that defined the car in which it was installed. Or even became legendary on it's own reputation.
So, lets start with this:
The 289 Ford. Because if Carroll Shelby had not dropped the 260/289 engine into the Bristol, that car would would have become another forgotten English sports car. Instead, the Cobra evolved to have mythic powers. I wanted a Cobra since I was in HS, and about 15 years ago, bought a Superformance 427 car, which I gradually modified into a formidable track car. But it was the 289 motor that started it all.
The 327 Chevy. An engine that powered the Fueli 'Vettes, and countless other Chevy high performance cars and sedans. If you mention "small block Chevy" to any performance guy, you don't have to mention the CI of the motor. It of course later grew to the 350 motor. But the only way you can get one now is in a box from the factory.
the 426 Hemi. My dad had a '57 Imperial, with the early 392 motor, in which i learned to drive and date. The 392 gained fame as the motor of choice for hot rods and drag cars. Then it powered Mopars to trophy's on the NASCAR circuit. The "Hemi" name carries such cachet that even now Chrysler sticks that decal on as many cars as it can. But like the 327, the only way you can get one now is also in a wooden crate. In '69, when I was an newly minted 2nd LT of Infantry, on my way to Germany, and then to RVN, i bought a '69 Dodge Charger R/T, which was great fun on the Autobahn. The car dealer in Lincoln Ne, asked me I wanted to upgrade to the Hemi, but it cost $770 more, in a car I bought for $3275, or a third of the cost of the Charger just for the Hemi.
the 389 Pontiac. With triple carbs, was the motor in the first "pony car", John DeLoreans stealthy move past the GM leadership, installing it in the midsize Tempest, creating the great GTO.
The 3.8 DOHC Jaguar engine, under the sensuous hood of the XKE, it also growing up to a 4.2 motor. Is there a more handsome motor than that lovely, long inline 6 cylinder motor?
the inline 6 cylinder BMW motors, with legendary reliability. Not a handsome engine, a very workmanlike appearance, but a motor that powered so many great M cars from BMW, and was always greatly praised by the automotive writers.
The Columbo V12 engines. When someone would write about a Ferrari, it never had just a V12, it was aways armed with a Columbo V12. The name of the designer was forever attached to his greatest powerplant.
There are others, the tidy Alfa DOHC motors, the SOHC Ford 429, with it's 11 foot of chain spinng the cams. The flat four that trundled the millions of VW's for decades, and introduced European economy cars to the USA. I had one in a '71 Squreback, eventually I rebuilt it with parts from Gene Berg and Koni and Vilem B Haan, that purveyer of sports apparel who advertised in Road & Track magazine. I still have my driving gloves that long gone company.
So feel free to add your own thoughts on motors that struck fear in other car's drivers, or whose reputation became forever associated with the automobiles in which they were installed.
All the best....
So as i moved thru traffic, on my way to a 13 hour shift, I tried to recall every powerplant that defined the car in which it was installed. Or even became legendary on it's own reputation.
So, lets start with this:
The 289 Ford. Because if Carroll Shelby had not dropped the 260/289 engine into the Bristol, that car would would have become another forgotten English sports car. Instead, the Cobra evolved to have mythic powers. I wanted a Cobra since I was in HS, and about 15 years ago, bought a Superformance 427 car, which I gradually modified into a formidable track car. But it was the 289 motor that started it all.
The 327 Chevy. An engine that powered the Fueli 'Vettes, and countless other Chevy high performance cars and sedans. If you mention "small block Chevy" to any performance guy, you don't have to mention the CI of the motor. It of course later grew to the 350 motor. But the only way you can get one now is in a box from the factory.
the 426 Hemi. My dad had a '57 Imperial, with the early 392 motor, in which i learned to drive and date. The 392 gained fame as the motor of choice for hot rods and drag cars. Then it powered Mopars to trophy's on the NASCAR circuit. The "Hemi" name carries such cachet that even now Chrysler sticks that decal on as many cars as it can. But like the 327, the only way you can get one now is also in a wooden crate. In '69, when I was an newly minted 2nd LT of Infantry, on my way to Germany, and then to RVN, i bought a '69 Dodge Charger R/T, which was great fun on the Autobahn. The car dealer in Lincoln Ne, asked me I wanted to upgrade to the Hemi, but it cost $770 more, in a car I bought for $3275, or a third of the cost of the Charger just for the Hemi.
the 389 Pontiac. With triple carbs, was the motor in the first "pony car", John DeLoreans stealthy move past the GM leadership, installing it in the midsize Tempest, creating the great GTO.
The 3.8 DOHC Jaguar engine, under the sensuous hood of the XKE, it also growing up to a 4.2 motor. Is there a more handsome motor than that lovely, long inline 6 cylinder motor?
the inline 6 cylinder BMW motors, with legendary reliability. Not a handsome engine, a very workmanlike appearance, but a motor that powered so many great M cars from BMW, and was always greatly praised by the automotive writers.
The Columbo V12 engines. When someone would write about a Ferrari, it never had just a V12, it was aways armed with a Columbo V12. The name of the designer was forever attached to his greatest powerplant.
There are others, the tidy Alfa DOHC motors, the SOHC Ford 429, with it's 11 foot of chain spinng the cams. The flat four that trundled the millions of VW's for decades, and introduced European economy cars to the USA. I had one in a '71 Squreback, eventually I rebuilt it with parts from Gene Berg and Koni and Vilem B Haan, that purveyer of sports apparel who advertised in Road & Track magazine. I still have my driving gloves that long gone company.
So feel free to add your own thoughts on motors that struck fear in other car's drivers, or whose reputation became forever associated with the automobiles in which they were installed.
All the best....
02-08-2015, 12:52 AM
#2
would say many of the limited cars tend to have special motors. cars i've owned that i appreciate...and i'm sure there are more:
LS7 in the C6-Z06 and now Z28. Last of the large displacement N/A V8s at 7.0L. Big Block power in small block package.
B18C5 engine in integra type r. I believe one of the first if not the first engine to break 100hp per litre, 195hp/1.8L and revved to 8400rpm (big deal in mid 90s).
LS7 in the C6-Z06 and now Z28. Last of the large displacement N/A V8s at 7.0L. Big Block power in small block package.
B18C5 engine in integra type r. I believe one of the first if not the first engine to break 100hp per litre, 195hp/1.8L and revved to 8400rpm (big deal in mid 90s).
02-08-2015, 01:21 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
LS7, definitely
F20C from the S2K. 9200RPM in a 30k car; awesome
S65 in the E92 M3. 8400RPM V8 in a daily drivable package
4G63 from the EVO before it sucked. Bullet proof and good for 500hp in stock form.
F20C from the S2K. 9200RPM in a 30k car; awesome
S65 in the E92 M3. 8400RPM V8 in a daily drivable package
4G63 from the EVO before it sucked. Bullet proof and good for 500hp in stock form.
02-08-2015, 04:42 AM
#7
Rennlist Member
Trending Topics
02-08-2015, 09:51 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
I agree with everything so far...
Pretty much every Ferrari 12-cylinder, both flat and V, and some great V8s starting with the F355.
The Audi V8 in the RS4/RS5/R8 is special as well, as are the various versions of their V10 in the S6/S8/RS6/R8/Gallardo/Huracan. Fantastically flexible with low RPM torque and high RPM power. And they sound great, too...
Unfortunately (given current trends) what most of those listed so far have in common is natural aspiration...
Pretty much every Ferrari 12-cylinder, both flat and V, and some great V8s starting with the F355.
The Audi V8 in the RS4/RS5/R8 is special as well, as are the various versions of their V10 in the S6/S8/RS6/R8/Gallardo/Huracan. Fantastically flexible with low RPM torque and high RPM power. And they sound great, too...
Unfortunately (given current trends) what most of those listed so far have in common is natural aspiration...
02-08-2015, 10:49 AM
#11
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3.8L Turbo that Buick put into it's Grand Nattional and GNX and was also the same Block that powered some race cars. And the only 1st and 2nd qualifiers, in 1985, of the Indy 500 since Duesenberg Did it years ago - before the recent homologation To keep cost down.
02-08-2015, 09:51 PM
#14
Nordschleife Master
But let's not forget that the 587 2.0l Furhmann 4 cam made 210hp, as did the original air cooled 2.0l Mezger when placed in the 904 and '67 911R.
All important engines. I'm also a fan of Subaru's turbo 2.0l flat 4 that set the 100,000 mile land speed record in 1989. A record that stood for 25 years!
02-08-2015, 10:43 PM
#15
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Mezger
A close second the 2JZ-GTE? Easy 500whp with $200, reliable internals up to 800whp, when built they easily push 1000-1500whp
A close second the 2JZ-GTE? Easy 500whp with $200, reliable internals up to 800whp, when built they easily push 1000-1500whp