10 Best Sounding Engines Of All Time.

Author

Javaughn Barrow

Engines have been the beating heart of our cars for years! Now with the rise of electric cars the sound of that beating heart may be a thing of the past! Electric cars aren’t to blame though, they’re a revolutionary piece of technology. If you haven’t had a chance to experience an electric car, then you should. Engines have been getting quieter every year due to noise pollution restrictions across the board. Even the bigger engines like the V8s don’t come from the factory with the roar like they used to. However, you can unlock that sound with a custom exhaust system to let that heart sing! Let’s go through a few examples of the best sounding engines from a small 4 banger to a monster v12!

Topics discussed:

What Are Engines Used For?

Engines are basically used for mechanical power. They do so by burning fuel to create this energy, and in doing so a byproduct of that process is a sound! Engine sound, more specifically an exhaust sound! These sounds vary from horrible to great, but today we’re focusing on the ones that get your adrenaline going…in a good way!

What Are Engine Layouts?

An Engine layout is when the engine pistons are arranged in a particular order. Three common layouts are inline engines, V engines and horizontally opposed engines which we call flat.

The inline engine has the pistons aligned one in front of the other hence the name inline. V engines have the pistons side by side but at an angle like a “V”. The horizontally opposed engines have a flat layout where the pistons are on opposite ends laying flat. Two of the most popular examples of horizontally opposed engines are Subaru’s Boxter engine and Porsche flat six engines.

Best Sounding Engines With 4 Cylinders

In my personal experience, one of the best sounding 4 cylinders is a BMW 3 series with the turbo i4 engine, particularly the 2012 – 2018 years 328i’s. That engine with a custom exhaust is one of the best sounds I heard coming out of an I4. That generation 328i comes with 240 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque, which equals a fair amount of fun along with that sound.

Another example is the VW Golf GTI. The latest edition comes with a 241 horsepower motor and 273 lb-ft of torque weighing in at 3113 lbs. This combo makes for a very fun and sporty driving experience! Paired with that experience is a lovely deep and throaty exhaust sound coming from vw’s turbo i4 engine. This sound is unique to this motor, not much else really sounds like this and with exhaust upgrades the sounds get even better!

Best Sounding V6 Engines

When thinking about the best sounding V6 two examples come to mind! Both examples are twin turbocharged! Now we know that putting turbos on an engine makes it less noisy exhaust wise, kind of like putting a silencer on the engine. However, some companies have managed to still make music despite having these turbos onboard.

Example 1: The Nissan GTR!

Nicknamed the Godzilla, the Nissan GTR has had a history of punching above its weight class since the 90’s! Now with the latest gen the 2023 Nissan GTR is powered by a 563 twin turbo V6 with 467 lb-ft of torque mated to a 6 speed automatic transmission and their all wheel drive system putting all that power to the ground.

This car competes with supercars for a fraction of the price ! The GTR also has an exhaust system that transforms all that power to a symphony of sounds, with the turbo waste gate flutters and the pops and bangs from the exhaust, it’s hard not to say this is one of the best sounding V6s.

Example 2: The Audi RS5 !

With the new generation of the RS5 switching from a V8 to a twin turbo V6 enthusiasts were worried about the sound experience. Coming from a V8, the twin turbo’d V6 had big shoes to fill and boy did it fill em!

Now becoming one of the best sounding V6s out there, the audi RS5 comes with a 444 Horsepower motor, 442 lb-ft of torque revving to 6800 rpm! By the time you start letting this V6 sing you should already be aware that you’re moving at an incredible rate of speed. With a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds, speed isn’t an issue.

Best Sounding V8 Engines

Now this might be a tough one because there are so many great sounding V8’s out there so it’s hard to choose which one is the best. It basically comes down to personal preference, so here are my top two!

The Maserati Granturismo MC Stradale

In my opinion this is a driver’s car. It’s not the fastest, but still quick enough to satisfy your taste for speed. The Mc Stradale is more driver focused with big paddles shifters for the driver to grab at any angle while steering, it has the power and handling that gives you confidence to explore the cars limits. The Sound of that 4.7 liter ferrari V8 coupled with that driving experience is magnifico!

The Grandturismo is known for its downshifts! Some of the best sounds I’ve ever heard in the V8 sphere. Sounds similar to thunder! Yes, that sound that sends a tingle down your spine or makes your hair stand up on your forearm.

The Corvette C7 Z06

If a Lion Could be a Super/Sports car, it would be a C7 Z06. This car produces 650 Horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels only! So not only can it create clouds, if you do too much and poke at the king of the jungle, you could get your head bitten off!

Some of the best V8 sounds came out of GM’S LS Engines, but with the 7th gen Vette the Supercharged LT4 V8 kept that same aggressive spirit and pushed it forward for this generation! The sound that came from this engine could be felt in your chest if you were standing too close!

Best Sounding V10 Engines

It’s between the Audi R8 V10 Plus or the Lamborghini Huracan. Both are basically the same engine but the Lambos is let off the leash a bit more! The pops and bangs from these engines has made its way into all of our hearts and will forever be cherished! With Audi discontinuing the R8 V10, the Huracan is the last stand for the best sounding naturally aspirated V10s out there. Or is it?

The Lexus LFA

For a super that’s been in development for over 9 years, the Lexus LFA came out one of the most expensive road cars ever built form japan.Those 9 years were not wasted, the LFA turned out to be one of the best drivers cars out there. With a very unique sounding V10, that sounded like literal music! This V10 revved to 9,000 rpm, it was an F1 car for the road.

That being said, the Lexus LFA wasn’t the fastest, in fact there were other supercars at the time that were cheaper and also faster. That wasn’t what the LFA was about though, only 500 were made between 2010 and 2012, so it quickly became a very exclusive collectors item and you can see why. The Lexus LFA will go down in history as one of the best sounding engines of all time, not just the best sounding V10 engine.

What Cars Have The Best Sounding V12 Engines?

There are two that come to mind, both are Lambos, but from different generations:

The Murcielago LP670 SV and the Aventador SVJ; but let’s focus on the SVJ

The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ is on a lot of car lovers’ vision boards. The impact the Aventador has made on the car community or even the world is huge! The reason I chose this as one of the best sounding V12 engines is because not only does the SVJ take the sound of an aventador and elevate the aggression it has the ability to sound like that sweet sweet Murcielago SV V12.

With a custom Gintani exhaust, it achieves this combo and it sounds like lightning and thunder coming out of the exhaust all at once! With Lamborghini’s famous “Thrust mode” the engine revs to 5000 rpm, holding it there for when you release the brake, so you can take off in a hurry. Not only is that the loudest launch control you’ll ever hear, but the best sounding one.

Conclusion

Although the era of louder-sounding exhausts from combustion engines is slowly winding down, there are still quite a few good-sounding engines alive and well today. I’m sure there are a lot more examples of great-sounding car brands, but here are my top 10 examples. What’s yours?

Javaughn Barrow

Hello! My name is Javaughn Barrow, a young car enthusiast who writes all the articles for Karcandy.com. I’ve written over 50 articles about automobiles. With each article, I deepen my understanding and expertise in writing and the automotive world. Ever since childhood, I’ve always had a strong passion for cars. All types shapes and sizes were interesting to me. I’d spend most of my time after school researching cars and the more I found out about them the more exciting it was. In my teens, I created a fan page about corvettes posting content at least ten times a day! Yes, I was crazy about it. The page ended up garnering over 40k followers! After a while, I wanted more than a fan page. I wanted to express my passion differently. I wanted to create more helpful content, higher-quality content. My first car was a 2013 VW CC Sport. Learned very quickly car ownership wasn’t as expected. I spent a lot of time replacing control arms, cam position sensors, brake rotors, brake pads, etc. Walking away with more information than I knew before. As I was growing in my automotive journey I was learning about writing. Starting by writing a detailed outline about 300 words long then I would pay a professional to write a full 1000-word article and learn from them getting familiar with the process of writing. The moment I realized I could use my writing skills to express my passion for cars and help people simultaneously, I started Karcandy.com. I realized with my unique perspective coupled with my hard work discipline and work ethic I can create a space online to help bridge the gap between the complicated and simple in the automotive world. I’m motivated by the challenges and work it will take to create such a space. My work ethic is something I choose to refine and make better each day. I think it’s important to push myself and stay committed to my evolution as a human and this website is only one of the results of that.

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