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
2jz is the best of them all
I believe the best engine is the mustang’s 5.2 flatplane
What about the 13B-REW from the Rx-7. Last produced in 2002 and nothing will ever be like it. Its a rotary engine, and due to modern restrictions there will never be another rotary quite like this engine. Yes, it may not be the most reliable engine, but because it can never happen again it has to be up as one of the best engines in the past twenty years.