Is Ferrari's 3.9 V8 Really The Best Engine Of The Last 20 Years?
The results are in for the International Engine of the Year Awards, and it’s the third win on the trot for Ferrari’s 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8. Not only that, but to mark the 20th anniversary of the awards, 68 judges were asked to pick the top engine from all the previous winners, and it was the ‘F154CB’ engine that came out on top.
Dean Slavnich, co-chairman of IEOTY, had the following to say about the result:
“Redeveloped and tweaked for the 488 Pista, the best engine in the world just got better. Without doubt, we’re looking at an engineering masterclass from Ferrari. No turbo lag, beautiful delivery, raw emotion, a furious growl and so much power – this Ferrari V8 is a work of art.”
But, all of this got us thinking - is 488’s turbo’d eight-banger really the best engine of the last 20 years? If we were picking any engine from this period (not just previous IEOTY winners) we’d be tempted to go for something else from Ferrari - specifically, the naturally aspirated ‘F140’ V12. Now that’s what we call “ raw emotion.” Incidentally, the 6.5-litre version of the engine won the ‘best new engine’ and over 4.0-litre categories this year.
What we want to do now is open the floor to you; what would you crown as the best engine of the last 20 years? Make your submissions and justifications in the comments section below!
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Yes it is. Yes it is. Yes it is.
Everyone whining in the comments needs to understand that these awards are about more than sound or “bUt I cAn PuT 1000 hOrSePoWeRs In My 2jAy” , it’s looking at these engines from all aspects. Sound, performance, how refined they are and so much more. The panelists actually drive the cars, unlike most people in the comments who have just heard them in a video.
Panelists drive the cars? Sure, do the panelists have more than 3 brain cells and could tell a good car if it ran them over? Probably not. How many cars was this test comprised of? Were all the cars tested in the same conditions? Were any of the cars straight from the factory absent of any little “tweaks” just for the test(looking at you ferrari)? Probably not. If i’ve learned anything it’s that anyone that knows how to use a steering wheel seems to consider themself a car guru, unless this whole panel was made purely of unaffiliated racing drivers and engineers i dont want to hear a word they have to say. Probably just your average Journalists
Burt the 488 is such an underwhelming engine in my opinion. McLaren can squeeze out more power. In fact, the Giulia Quadrifoglio which is based on the 488 engine actually gets more hp per litre. It sounds pretty poor (I saw one going past and I swear it sounded like a V6). Can’t speak for throttle-response (heard it’s pretty good) but compared to a Lambo V10 or Ferrari V12? If I was only looking at turbo V8s, my go-to would be the AMG 4.0 (M177) followed by the BMW S63 engine. The Ferrari engine would quite frankly be the last one I’d think of.
Isn’t like the EcoBoost the best engine of all time? As I remember the EcoBoost is the one that knocked down the Ferrari from the most awards for the best engine
Edit: I checked. They are tied, both winning three “best engine of the year awards”
Dude, yes. The V6 in the GT is absolutely bonkers and should’ve won it.
I don’t like odd numbers so it’s a no from me
I honestly can’t provide any evidence for it but I really don’t think that it’s the best engine
Wildcard maybe, but the 3.2 busso v6 has got to be up there for me. So much emotion from a comparatively tiny price tag
Comparatively tiny!?! It has to be microscopic compared to the Ferrari
Absolutely not. The F154 is rather meh. The BMW S63 and AMG M177 (4.4 and 4L turbo V8s respectively) make similar power once you factor in the performance understatement, are far cheaper and have more character in my opinion. There are so many better engines - the LFA V10, the Carrera GT V10, the GT350R V8, the AMG M156 (6.2L) V8, the Aston Martin V12, the 911 GT3 flat-six, the Giulia Quadrifoglio V6, the RS3 inline-5, the S2000’s I4… the list just goes on.
not really. id still say something like the DAZA/CEPA/CEPB/etc engine from audi, though thats not the v8 category, still..
4.5L V8 from the 458 is my favorite all time NA V8
F20C.
Although, with people talking about raw naturally aspirated power, the winner for me would have to be TVRs speed twelve engine. Its a 7.7 litre V12 with no forced induction in sight, yet it managed to break a 1000hp rated dynamometer. They estimated that it was between 900 to well over a thousand Horsepower. Elegant, nope. Crazy, definitely.