20. FORD SIERRA RS COSWORTH
Okay, so we’re bending the rules here with a mere 2.0L four-cylinder, but underestimate the Cosworth YB at your peril. Ford had fallen behind in the arena of touring car racing and wanted to do something about it, enlisting the services of F1 engine builder extraordinaire Cosworth, who attached a giant Garrett T3 turbo to spectacular effect. There had been giant killers before, but nothing slayed Goliath as convincingly as the 204 bhp Sierra Cosworth - or did it with as much attitude. Porsches and BMW M cars were left trailing in its wake, and that’s before the tuners started working their magic.
19. ALFA ROMEO 147 GTA
The early 2000s saw its fair share of well-endowed hot hatches - the BMW 130i and VW Golf R32 being two rivals with a six-shooter under the hood, but neither did it with as much style as the Alfa Romeo. Equipped with the firm's famous Busso V6 in 3.2L form, it didn’t dominate competitors with sheer power as much as pure charisma. It may have led to some famously lively torque steer, but the 250 bhp GTA is far more coveted today than either German, and we haven’t seen it's like since in the sector, even from Alfa itself.
18. ALPINA B8 4.6 (E36)
Alpina has always enjoyed a special relationship with BMW. The firm has always respectfully bowed to the M Division in terms of power outputs, but all that changed in the 1990s with the E34 five series based B10 BiTurbo, and later the E36 B8. BMW themselves had tried and failed to shoehorn a V8 into the E36’s engine bay, yet Alpina succeeded - after making a mere 43 changes to the engine bay. The tuned 4.6l V8 developed 333 bhp, but it was the torque that kept the M Division awake at night - the B8 made the M3’s maximum twist at just 1,000rpm.
17. SUNBEAM LOTUS
Hailing from an era when front-wheel drive hadn’t completely taken over the mainstream, the Sunbeam lotus was another creation with one purpose - to take the chequered flag, only this time it was in the World Rally Championship. It was a huge task, so Lotus called in the expertise of Lotus, who slipped their famed 2.2L twin-cam four into the snout of the humble Talbot hatchback. The result was 150 bhp for the road car, and a mighty 240 bhp in race-trim, enough to claim the 1980 WRC. The Sunbeams output would not be bettered by another naturally aspirated hot hatch until the Peugeot 306 GTi-6 came along seventeen years later in 1997.
20. FORD SIERRA RS COSWORTH
Okay, so we’re bending the rules here with a mere 2.0L four-cylinder, but underestimate the Cosworth YB at your peril. Ford had fallen behind in the arena of touring car racing and wanted to do something about it, enlisting the services of F1 engine builder extraordinaire Cosworth, who attached a giant Garrett T3 turbo to spectacular effect. There had been giant killers before, but nothing slayed Goliath as convincingly as the 204 bhp Sierra Cosworth - or did it with as much attitude. Porsches and BMW M cars were left trailing in its wake, and that’s before the tuners started working their magic.
19. ALFA ROMEO 147 GTA
The early 2000s saw its fair share of well-endowed hot hatches - the BMW 130i and VW Golf R32 being two rivals with a six-shooter under the hood, but neither did it with as much style as the Alfa Romeo. Equipped with the firm's famous Busso V6 in 3.2L form, it didn’t dominate competitors with sheer power as much as pure charisma. It may have led to some famously lively torque steer, but the 250 bhp GTA is far more coveted today than either German, and we haven’t seen it's like since in the sector, even from Alfa itself.
18. ALPINA B8 4.6 (E36)
Alpina has always enjoyed a special relationship with BMW. The firm has always respectfully bowed to the M Division in terms of power outputs, but all that changed in the 1990s with the E34 five series based B10 BiTurbo, and later the E36 B8. BMW themselves had tried and failed to shoehorn a V8 into the E36’s engine bay, yet Alpina succeeded - after making a mere 43 changes to the engine bay. The tuned 4.6l V8 developed 333 bhp, but it was the torque that kept the M Division awake at night - the B8 made the M3’s maximum twist at just 1,000rpm.
17. SUNBEAM LOTUS
Hailing from an era when front-wheel drive hadn’t completely taken over the mainstream, the Sunbeam lotus was another creation with one purpose - to take the chequered flag, only this time it was in the World Rally Championship. It was a huge task, so Lotus called in the expertise of Lotus, who slipped their famed 2.2L twin-cam four into the snout of the humble Talbot hatchback. The result was 150 bhp for the road car, and a mighty 240 bhp in race-trim, enough to claim the 1980 WRC. The Sunbeams output would not be bettered by another naturally aspirated hot hatch until the Peugeot 306 GTi-6 came along seventeen years later in 1997.
By Craig Toone
Images via Manufacturer Media
Big Stick Diplomacy
Counting down the twenty most powerful and game-changing engine and unlikely car combinations ever to have graced production lines
16. MERCEDES C63 AMG​
We came close to awarding this slot to the lesser known, special order C55 AMG, but as powerful as the previous generation V8 was it pales in comparison to the follow-up. Despite the C63 designation, the V8 actually displaces 6.2 litres, but that’s nitpicking. The important point is that mammoth capacity only has a compact executive saloon to motivate, and it comes complete with a soundtrack Thor would be proud of. The C63 could tyre smoke its way to sixty in 4.6 seconds and its 457 bhp made the BMW M3 look limp-wristed. When the naturally aspirated C63 finished production, it was producing 507 bhp – 80 bhp more than even the next generation M3 could muster, despite being twin-turbocharged.​
15. TVR SPEED 12​
The fact a TVR makes such a list is no surprise given their long history of fitting fat Rover V8s to hairy-chested sports cars. However, even by TVR standards the Speed 12 measured completely off the bonkers chart. Mating two Cerbera Speed 6 engines on a common crank resulted in a broken engine dyno – one that was rated at 1,000 bhp. Testing each bank individually resulted in 480 bhp a side, so TVR claimed 960 bhp. Even TVR’s famously unhinged chief Peter Wheeler condemned it as too fast and wild for the road, but it made for a great spectacle when TVR took it GT racing. The fact only one road-registered car exists is why it doesn’t climb even higher.​
14. BMW M5 (E28)​
The super saloon that started it all, and for many, the one that remains the pinnacle. BMW had kicked off its official M Division road car efforts with the bespoke, mid-engine M1 supercar. The car was great - the sales were not. Around the time of the M1’s demise, BMW’s bodyguards were in need of a stupidly fast, but anonymous saloon car to safely transport the top brass. Some bright spark had the idea of fitting a five series with a leftover 286 bhp, M88 3.5 litre straight six from the M1, and the saloon car that could munch a Porsche 911 whilst having space for five and their luggage was born.​
13. GMC CYCLONE​
Take one commercial US pickup truck with a 4.3 litre V6, slap on a huge turbocharger, a water-to-air intercooler, fit low compression pistons, a new injection system, intake and exhaust manifold. Simmer with super unleaded fuel and bake at 280 bhp & 350 lb-ft, before garnishing with a four-wheel drive system. The Syclone and its SUV twin the Typhoon could outsprint a contemporary Corvette, dispensing 60mph from a standstill in just 4.3s​.
16. MERCEDES C63 AMG​
We came close to awarding this slot to the lesser known, special order C55 AMG, but as powerful as the previous generation V8 was it pales in comparison to the follow-up. Despite the C63 designation, the V8 actually displaces 6.2 litres, but that’s nitpicking. The important point is that mammoth capacity only has a compact executive saloon to motivate, and it comes complete with a soundtrack Thor would be proud of. The C63 could tyre smoke its way to sixty in 4.6 seconds and its 457 bhp made the BMW M3 look limp-wristed. When the naturally aspirated C63 finished production, it was producing 507 bhp – 80 bhp more than even the next generation M3 could muster, despite being twin-turbocharged.​
15. TVR SPEED 12​
The fact a TVR makes such a list is no surprise given their long history of fitting fat Rover V8s to hairy-chested sports cars. However, even by TVR standards the Speed 12 measured completely off the bonkers chart. Mating two Cerbera Speed 6 engines on a common crank resulted in a broken engine dyno – one that was rated at 1,000 bhp. Testing each bank individually resulted in 480 bhp a side, so TVR claimed 960 bhp. Even TVR’s famously unhinged chief Peter Wheeler condemned it as too fast and wild for the road, but it made for a great spectacle when TVR took it GT racing. The fact only one road-registered car exists is why it doesn’t climb even higher.​
14. BMW M5 (E28)​
The super saloon that started it all, and for many, the one that remains the pinnacle. BMW had kicked off its official M Division road car efforts with the bespoke, mid-engine M1 supercar. The car was great - the sales were not. Around the time of the M1’s demise, BMW’s bodyguards were in need of a stupidly fast, but anonymous saloon car to safely transport the top brass. Some bright spark had the idea of fitting a five series with a leftover 286 bhp, M88 3.5 litre straight six from the M1, and the saloon car that could munch a Porsche 911 whilst having space for five and their luggage was born.​
13. GMC CYCLONE​
Take one commercial US pickup truck with a 4.3 litre V6, slap on a huge turbocharger, a water-to-air intercooler, fit low compression pistons, a new injection system, intake and exhaust manifold. Simmer with super unleaded fuel and bake at 280 bhp & 350 lb-ft, before garnishing with a four-wheel drive system. The Syclone and its SUV twin the Typhoon could outsprint a contemporary Corvette, dispensing 60mph from a standstill in just 4.3s​.