Designed for use in aircraft, the very first V8 engine was patented in 1902 by Léon Levavasseur. Little did he know back then, but the French engineer who pioneered direct fuel injection and liquid cooling inspired Cadillac and the Blue Oval to develop their first series-production V8s.
We’ve come a very long way since the beginning of the 20th century, which is why eight-cylinder motors with a V-shaped layout come in many flavors. The question is, which one sounds the best? To answer that question, Donut Media host James Pumphrey gave an award-winning sound designer a set of headphones, 10 audio clips, and a Utah Monolith-inspired ranking board.
Mark Mangini is the name of the guy on the left, and he’s the guy who recorded the roar track for Leo the Lion. You know, the MGM lion mascot. Born in Boston, this fellow’s job is “to record, create, and design all the sounds that you hear in movies.” One of his latest works is Mad Max: Fury Road, which features mechanical truck sounds overlayed with whale calls.
Even though Mark isn’t as technically knowledgeable about internal combustion as James, he did a fine job ranking 10 viewer-submitted V8 engines. The flat-plane crankshaft V8 of the Ferrari 458 Italia tops the board, which is somewhat expected because it sounds absolutely magnificent.
In second and third places, you’ll find the supercharged engine of the Dodge Demon and the 440 big-block V8 of the old-school Dodge Charger. The rest of the list includes the Ariel Atom V8, seventh-generation Corvette Z06, Lexus LC 500, Mercedes-AMG twin-turbo V8, the Jaguar F-Type with the AJ-V8, Voodoo-engined Shelby GT350, and the two-stroke Detroit Diesel 8V-71.
Bear in mind these are viewer-submitted V8 engines, not the actual best-sounding V8s in the world. If you ask me, this list feels incomplete without the five-valve-per-cylinder V8 of the Ferrari F355, preferably with a Capristo exhaust. If you’re curious how that sounds, play the second video below.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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