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
Lambo V12?
Good job lads, you’ve stired up the whole of ct community
For me it’d have to be the Aston Martin AM29 V12 - plenty of power, tabletop-flat torque curve, solid engineering (as it’s based on the duratec V6), and sounds like the ba$tard child of Tom Jones and a Group C prototype
I´m gonna be that guy… 2JZ?
The F140’ V12 i my choice.
They have looked at other Ferraris, even, right? To make no mention of the Lamborghini 5.2 L V10, the Corvette 6.2L Supercharged V8 from the Z06, and so many others.
Honestly, there are really 2 engines that pop to mind.
The Mazda Skyactic-G series and the Variable Compression Turbocharged engine by Nissan/Infiniti. These 2 may someday in the future be credited for making mainstream technology which would be considered futuristic now.
cough M156 cough
Chevy LS3 V8. You know, if power, weight, price, and overall size are important. If not, then of course the ferrari is the way to go lol
Subaru EJ257 and 5.0L Coyote V8. Nuff said