V10 Engine Power : Beyond The Limits

Author

Javaughn Barrow

The V10 engine power are one of the most unique contributions to automotive history. These ten cylinder motors were the perfect balance of power and weight for F1 cars since 1986. F1 aside, road cars that sported this engine created an unforgettable sound to ever pass through an exhaust system. When you hear a V10 engine, you know it’s one. And even if you’re not familiar with the sound of a V10 engine, you will go . . . “what’s that?” This is because of the V10’s lightweight nature. Hence, why the engine was pushed to its rev limits in the early years of F1 development. V10 engines are almost non existent today in the car/suv/truck market. It seems to be going away completely with companies like Audi, and maybe Lamborghini, who discontinued their beloved V10 supercars.

What you will learn:

V10 Engine horsepower

How fast can a V10 go? A V10 engine can produce a lot of power for your car without adding engine aids, like turbochargers and superchargers.  A V10 engine was one of the top choices for F1 engineers when selecting a power plant for their cars. This then trickled down to road cars. Here are a few examples of how much power a V10 engine car can give you:

The Lexus LFA

Being a luxury, everyday car brand, Lexus definitely shocked the world when they introduced the Lexus LFA  in 2010. This supercar was very unique. It was more than a supercar, it was a real driver’s car. And what made it even more unique was its engine. The Lexus LFA had a V10 engine producing 553 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of peak torque coming in at 6,800 rpm. The V angle of the engine is at 75 degrees to produce an even firing interval. It was a 4.8L 1LR-GUE even-firing V10 engine.

This motor was capable of revving all the way to 9,000 rpm. So, imagine the sound it made when it started screaming past 6,000 rpm. This is the best sounding V10 engine in a road legal car. This is a sound you will never forget. The engine was closer to an F1 car rather than a supercar. It gained and dropped revs so fast, Lexus had to put a digital display to keep up with the revs. Because of this V10 engine’s power and performance, the Lexus LFA went from 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds. That is still impressive by today’s standards, so imagine back in 2010.

The Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica

Lamborghini has been utilizing V10 engine power since 2003 with the Gallardo. Twenty years later, they have their latest masterpiece, the Huracan Tecnica. They have definitely earned the stamp of approval for the most exciting and powerful V10 engine! The Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica has a 5.2L DOHC 40-valve V10 engine. This V10 engine’s power comes in at 631 horsepower, and 417 lb-ft of peak torque at 6,500 rpm.

You might as well say this Huracan is powered by brute force. This V10 engine’s power is mated with Lamborghini’s 7-speed dual clutch transmission. This makes for a performance like no other. The Tecnica Launches from 0-30 mph in 1.3 seconds, and to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. This is neck snapping speed. There is no wonder why Lamborghini makes the most exciting supercars.

Audi R8 V10 Plus

Some might say this is a budget Lambo, and they might be right. However, I think the R8 deserves a bit more respect than that. Trailing behind Lamborghini, Audi’s R8 sported the V10 engine since 2008. With 15 years of development, the R8 V10 Plus has been a great competitor in the supercar category. The R8 V10 Plus’s power comes from a 5.2L V10 FSI engine punching out 610 horsepower, and 413 lb-ft of peak torque at 6,500 rpm.

This V10 engine’s power is mated to Audi’s 7-speed dual clutch gearbox, and Audi AWD (all wheel drive) Quattro system. This combination allows the R8 V10 Plus to accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. These numbers are just shy of the Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica stats, which is just a 0.4 seconds difference. However, this is on paper, you won’t notice the difference in the real world. Also, the exhaust sound from this R8’s V10 engine makes you notice it even less.

Dodge Viper ACR

Let’s get this straight, the Dodge Viper ACR is just a road legal track weapon. This puts supercars to shame on the track. If you’ve been lucky enough to experience Lambos, Porsches, Mclarens on a track, then you think you know what fast is until you experience the Viper ACR. The Viper ACR produces up to 1,760 lbs of downforce at high speeds, sticking it to the pavement and up to 1.5 G of cornering force.

This is track level performance, and the engine responsible for this is an 8.4L high performance, naturally-aspirated, 2 valve cylinder, 90 degree angle V10 engine. This V10 engine’s power comes in at 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of peak torque at 5,000 rpm. With this V10 engine’s power, the car is capable of 0-60 mph in 3 seconds flat. Not that this particular car is about straight line speed, however, it is definitely impressive for track use.

BMW E60 M5

This is a car that has been dominated by the motor. This gen M5 is known for its screaming V10 engine sound. It was also the first sedan to use a V10 powered engine at the time. This E60 M5, has BMW’s S85 5.0L V10 engine. This V10 engine power is 500 horses and 384 lb-ft of torque. Peak torque is delivered at 6,100 rpm. This engine revved to 8,250 rpm. Like most V10 engines, high revving screams is a commonality, and the S85 V10 is no exception. The exhaust note that comes out of this S85 V10 engine sounds glorious!

How much horsepower can a V10 engine make?

A V10 engine is essentially 2 banks of inline 5 cylinders connected at an angle to a common point, called a crankshaft. This layout can produce high revving potential and a range of power. You can get from 500 to 940 horsepower, which manufacturers like Audi, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Dodge, and even Lexus have proved. The V10 engine has a unique layout with a unique sound, as well.

This is due to the fact that a V10 engine has more cylinders than say a V8 or V6 engine. More cylinders means it’s enough to distribute an engine’s displacement over each cylinder. Which further means the pistons can be smaller, which weigh less. Less weight makes it easier to rotate around, which gives the engine an easier time rotating. And rotating faster is essentially higher revs. The higher revs lead to more power output, and unique exhaust notes. Ultimately, this is why V10 engines are a great source of power.

Is a V10 better than a V8?

The V10 engine is better at a few things, one of which is its rev limits. The revs limits are higher on a V10 engine because of the usual small displacement over a V8. This simply means it can be lighter, therefore, it can rev higher. Higher revs, makes the sounds of a V10 engine more pleasant when climbing that rpm range. The V10 engine’s  piston count and ability to rev higher gives you more power over a V8 engine.

One of the V8 engine’s advantages over a V10 engine is its gas mileage. A V8 engine has fewer pistons to burn fuel, which helps with gas mileage. Also, a V10 engine is also more expensive to manufacture because it has more moving parts than a V8 engine. This makes a V10 more expensive to purchase, which leaves a V8 engine as the more cost effective option.

Is a V10 better than a V12?

A V10’s engine can produce awesome power, while still being smaller and lighter than a V12 engine. Although a V12 has a smoother power delivery, it’s still bigger in size. This makes a V10 engine easier to work with. A V12 also has more moving parts than a V10 engine, which means more complications and more potential repairs. This drives up manufacturing costs for a V12 engine, which makes the V10 cheaper.

Most powerful V10 engine:

There are a few companies out there pushing the limits of the V10 engine power. Companies like AMS, Underground Racing and even Spania GTA pushed the V10 engine power, resulting in record breaking numbers. Here are a few of  the fastest V10 engines:

Spania GTA Spano

• The Spania GTA Spano is one of the most exclusive supercars today. Made by a Spanish car manufacturer, the Spano costs $3.58 million base. This supercar uses an 8.0L Viper V10 engine that is twin turbo charged. This engine pushes out a wapping 912 horsepower and 900 lb-ft of torque. All this power in a car that weighs only 3,086 pounds. That being said the 0-60 mph is just 2.8 seconds with a top speed of 230 MPH.

AMS Lamborghini Huracan

• The AMS Built Lamborghini Huracan produces over 2,000 horsepower; 2,060 horsepower to be exact, and 1,279 lb-ft of torque at the wheels! These are ridiculous numbers of course, and I’m surprised NASA hasn’t called them for space shuttle advice. This machine is able to complete a quarter mile in 7.4 seconds at 189 mph. Kudos to the driver for taking on such massive pressure. As a result, the record for fastest Lambo belongs to them.

The Underground racing Audi R8 TT

• Underground racingThis company made an R8 V10 Plus to output 2,100 horsepower! These Numbers stop making sense past 1,000 horsepower. That’s almost four times the output of a stock R8 V10 plus. This goes to show the potential power you can derive from these V10 engines.

The Ford V10 Engine?

Although the V10 engine power was mostly used for sport and racing, it was also a good platform for utility. The V10 revealed its strengths through F1 racing and supercar making, but what about utility? Ford built a V10 engine for pickups and trucks, which yet again shows the strength of the V10 engine power. The code name for the Ford V10 engine is the Triton V10. There were two versions of this engine: a 2 valve V10 and a 3 valve V10 engine. The 2 valve V10 engine has 310 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque. The 3 valve V10 engine has 365 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. Torque was usually higher for this application.

This engine was not made for racing. Instead this engine was made for its towing and hauling capabilities. This is similar to Dodge’s V10 truck engines, which were made with more utility in mind. Although the main issue with Ford’s 2 valved V10’s was the sparks plugs popping loose because of the low treading on the head, Ford still managed to produce this engine for 20 years (1999- 2019). Dodge’s production run was even lower at 10 years with V8 engines replacing V10 engines. You can still pick up a Ford V10 engine on ebay for $2,000 to $8,000, if you’re interested. The best part about the Ford Triton V10 engine is that when it ran well, it ran really well.  It was a real workhorse for the truck owner.

Conclusion

As V10 engines exit the market, it is great to remember how much fun we had with them and the impact it left in automotive history: Ten cylinders with ten times the power, and ten times the sound experience caused ten times the fun! That’s what it will be known for.

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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