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There Are Only Three Cars Still In Production With A V10 Engine

With all the news of electric cars and smaller four-cylinder engines, we’ve forgotten about what very well could be the best engine configuration: the V10. Placed under the bonnets of some of the greatest cars in the world such as the Lexus LFA and the Dodge Viper, ten cylinders not only make plenty of power, but they make a great sound, too.

Unfortunately, they weren’t powerful enough and had bad fuel efficiency, and quite simply, it was easier for manufacturers to shove in a V8 – cheaper, too. This has meant that it’s almost gone extinct, leaving (as far as I can find) three cars in production with V10 engines. Let’s take a look at them.

Audi R8

The Audi R8 broke the industry when it was first revealed to the market in 2007 with its DRLs (the first production car to have them, by the way) and was the first attempt from Audi at the supercar market. By 2009, a Lamborghini-derived V10 option was given on top of the original 4.2-litre V8, and while it was a brilliant engine with 518bhp from its 5.2-litres, many still preferred a V8 due to its lighter weight and sweet gated manual gearbox.

A decade later, the car’s certainly been through a few facelifts and is nearing the end of its life, but the V10 is now the only engine option. These days it produces 611hp and Autocar has recorded a 0-60mph time of just 2.9 seconds.

Lamborghini Huracan

With an almost identical powertrain to the Audi R8, the Huracan possesses the same V10 engine – perks of being under the umbrella of the VW Group. Fortunately for Lamborghini, unlike the R8, it’s also retained the majority of its value.

Replacing the V10-powered Gallardo, the new supercar was released to the market in 2014 with 602hp. The Huracan Performante now has 630hp and enough aero to rocket it around the Nurburging 6:52.

Ford E-Series Van

Ford E Series Van V10 Triton

With a life spanning over 50 years and still plodding along, the E-Series van from Ford is the final V10-powered vehicle being produced presently. Initially, on its release in the 60s, it was powered by an inline-6. Now, it’s powered by the mighty Triton 6.8-litre V10, which produces 305hp and 420 lb. ft. of torque in its most powerful guise.

We miss the V10 layout a lot, and wish more manufacturers would bring it back. Unfortunately, that’s never going to happen. What was your favourite V10 powered car? we’d have to choose the LFA…

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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6 Comments

  1. Headline should be, Can You Believe There Are STILL Three Cars with V-10 Engines You Can Buy? (Yes it’s long, but this is the web, so space isn’t really a concern)…the V-10 was never a widely produced engine anyway, and the fact that there are still some ways (albeit, 2 of them are rather pricey) to get one is pretty cool…the LFA’s sounded incredible, but the car wasn’t exactly pretty…

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