A four-liter four-cylinder can now be equated with a power-sucked V8 muscle car, thanks to advances in engine technology in recent years.
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Two decades ago, the idea of a four-cylinder engine that produced 300 kW, a six-cylinder that developed 400 kW and a V8 that offered 500 kW, all in a road car, was almost unheard of.
Today, as the internal combustion engine enters its last decade under the hood of our new cars, all advances in engine technology have allowed automakers to extract more power than ever, from smaller engines and light.
However, some engines are above the rest, piling up more power and torque in shorter, narrower and less cylinders. These are the 10 most powerful engines for sale, that is, the most powerful engines per liter.
10. Alfa Romeo Giulia / Stelvio Quadrifoglio (129.7 kW / L)
One of only two four-door car sets on this list, the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio share a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, derived from an earlier version of the 3.9-liter, 4-liter V8s. , 0 liters of twin turbos of the Ferraris above in this list.
With a power of 375 kW and 600 Nm, the Alfa Romeo are the most powerful four-door cars in its segment, surpassing BMW’s medium-sized M Competition cars (M3, M4, X3 M and X4 M), which also coten 375 kW. but of larger 102cc engines (2993cc vs 2891cc).
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9. McLaren 720S (132.7 kW / L)
The lowest-ranked McLaren in the top 10 list, the 720S uses the company’s 4.0-liter ‘M840T’ version of the company’s twin-turbo V8, descended from an engine intended for a Group race car Nissan C of the 80s, which develops 530 kW and 770 Nm.
It’s also not cheap, priced in excess of $ 500,000 before costs and options on the road – two-thirds more than the next car on this list and equivalent to more than three Giulias.
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8. BMW M4 CSL (135.3 kW / L)
The “normal” BMW M4 and M4 Competition may not have enough power to overtake the aforementioned Alfa Romeo and find a place on this list, but the tight and refined M4 CSL does.
The new M4 CSL, retrieving a name last used 20 years ago, and first applied in the 1970s, uses the most powerful version of BMW’s six-liter inline “S58” 3.0 offered to date, developing 405 kW and 650 Nm.
It’s also the most expensive engine app (for now), priced from $ 303,900 plus costs on the road, nearly double the price of a basic manual M4 coupe.
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7. Ferrari F8 Tribute / Spider (135.8 kW / L)
Those who are probably Ferrari’s latest mass-produced V8 supercars without any hybrid technology, the F8 Tributo coupe and the F8 Spider convertible, rank seventh on this list.
Powered by 3.9-liter versions of Ferrari’s “F154” twin-turbocharged V8, the two-door F8 shares 530 kW and 770 Nm of power, powered on the rear wheels for 2.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h . Prices start at about $ 540,000 plus road costs.
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6. McLaren 765LT (141.0 kW / L)
The familiar McLaren V8 is offered with even more power under the cover of the 765LT, the heroic version of the track-centered 720S range.
Available in the form of a spider, priced from $ 685,000 plus road costs, the 765LT extracts 563 kW (or 765 horsepower) and 800 Nm for a 0-100 km / h 2.8 seconds.
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5. McLaren Artura (145.7kW / L)
The smallest engine ever installed in a modern McLaren also offers more power per liter than any other engine in the company: the new 3.0-liter (2,993 cc) V6 biturbo in the $ 449,550 Artura, developing 430 kW / 585 Nm.
The car’s hybrid system increases the combined power to 500 kW and 720 Nm, but we have excluded this electrified increase from power calculations per liter, as it is not generated by the gasoline engine itself.
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4. Ferrari SF90 Road / Spider (143.9 kW / L)
The most powerful production version of the Ferrari F154 turbo V8 is equipped with the $ 846,888 and $ 957,700 SF90 Spider SF90 Stradale duo, with a displacement of four liters (3,990 cc) and a development of 574 kW / 800 Nm.
This figure excludes the hybrid system of the SF90 duo, which can add 162 kW more for a total of 735 kW, although as the Artura we have not included it in the calculations.
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3. Maserati MC20 (154.3 kW / L)
The only two-door V6 supercar on this list without hybrid assistance, the $ 467,000 Maserati MC20 plus costs on the road includes a home-designed 3.0-liter bi-turbo ‘Nettuno’ V6, unrelated to the Ferrari 2.9-liter Alfa Romeo range. mill.
With the pre-chamber combustion technology derived from Formula 1 on board, it has 463 kW (630 metric horsepower, not 470 kW, as also reported) and 730 Nm with only 3000 cc of capacity.
2. Mercedes-AMG A45 / CLA45 / GLA45 S (155.7 kW / L)
Mercedes-AMG’s 2.0-liter (1991 cc) turbocharged four-cylinder “M139” is the most powerful four-cylinder ever installed in a production car, producing 310 kW and 500 Nm in the A45 flagship performance cars S, CLA45 S and GLA45 S.
Built by hand, the engine cites a 7200 rpm red line, a high-speed dual-displacement turbocharger and up to 30.5 psi (2.1 bar) boost pressure. It can be yours for “as little” as $ 99,895 plus road costs on the A45 S, the only car under $ 100,000 here.
The M139 engine will soon be installed in the new generation Mercedes-AMG C63 sedan, with a power of up to 331 kW, before the high-power plug-in hybrid system is included.
1. Ferrari 296 GTB (163.0 kW / L)
As with its British rival, this is a small twin-turbocharged V6 that claims power density boasts perfectly for Ferrari, with the 120-degree “F163” engine in the new 296 GTB coupe hybrid supercar (and the next 296 GTS convertible).
With a displacement of 3.0 liters, although Ferrari is marked by a 2.9-liter engine, despite a displacement of 2,992 cc, the engine of the 296 GTB develops 487 kW alone, before adding 123 kW more of the plug-in hybrid propulsion group.
Ferrari claims a combined power of 610 kW and 740 Nm, good for a sprint from 0 to 100 km / h in 2.9 seconds, and a red line of 8500 rpm as well as a positioning Ferrari V12 of natural aspiration.
Are there any cars we missed? Which high power engine stands out the most? Let us know in the comments.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he created his own website, Redline. He collaborated on Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flipping through car magazines when he was young to growing up around performance. vehicles in a car-loving family.
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