V8 Debate

[Richard A Thackeray]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/qu...-greatest-naturally-aspirated-v8-car-all-time

For the UK, in terms of wide-spread useage, surely it's got to be the (ex-Buick 215 cubic-inch) 'Rover V8', in all its incarnations from 3.5 litres, up to 5.2litres
For me, the best installations were in the Range-Rover (first model 1970 - 1995) & the TVR Griffith (the 430 & 500's sounded wonderful)

1970 TV ad

View: https://youtu.be/CXGJRIDjdmE?si=gW8d9__DHgfTQSEq

'Griff 500'

View: https://youtu.be/XTYiS9meYbo?si=3xhoygoZw9cDEvNV


As for 'Rest Of The World', personally a difficult decision between the Ford 427, & the (Dodge) 'Hemi' (426 CI)

The Ford 427 was the motor that was used in the AC Cobra, the worlds fastest acceleration production car for a lot of years!
From memory & dependant on specified gearing
0 - 60MPH; 4.2 seconds
0 - 100MPH; 8.8 seconds (would probably have been faster, but required another gear change!)
165MPH
Maximum speeds in gears
1st; 65MPH
2nd 95MPH
3rd; 125MPH
4th; 165MPH

A couple of Cobras even got up into the 190+MPH region!
Remember this was without the help of turbocharging/supercharging/fancy electronics/aerodynamic testing/etc......
And, in the mid 60's!!

Even in the UK, pre motoway speed limits, one Cobra Coupe was alleged to have hit 185MPH testing for LeMans (& is generally accepted as a catalyst for the 70MPH limits)

I'm not certain if this is a modern recreation or not?
It still lays rubber in 3 gears


View: https://youtu.be/a0oozO1Rg1k?si=DnlGwRWRjrOXpMRt

 

[Jameshow]

Don't forget the 6.75 rolls Royce V8?

Magnificent engine and more than a match for the V12 BMW and W12 VW engines.

 

[fossyant]

Just awaiting a Tesla owner to appear and tell us their washing machine is faster (well they both come in white mainly). Yeh but a Tesla sounds rubbish.

 

[Drago]

I was never a fan of the Rover V8, and ife had one. Unreliable, leaky, were good at turning fuel into a lovely noise with little in the way of power as a by product. It's only real good points were it's light weight and compact dimensions.

 

[Gillstay]

Talked yesterday to a range rover owner who was sadly explaining how much money he had lost on it.

 

[Gillstay]

Don't forget the 6.75 rolls Royce V8?

Magnificent engine and more than a match for the V12 BMW and W12 VW engines.

Yes used to race around the lanes against Rolls Royce and they could shift in the right hands. Was often impressed.

 

[Slick]

It was all school boy stuff, but I loved the Rover V8 and was driving on the road in one at 16 as the owner needed someone who wasn't drinking to chauffeur him around. Sounded lovely.

 

[Drago]

Don't forget the 6.75 rolls Royce V8?

Magnificent engine and more than a match for the V12 BMW and W12 VW engines.

Albeit it didn't achieve the pinnacle until BMW bought the firm and there was budget to house train the design with better reliability, driveability and economy while waiting for the new V12 engined BMW powered models to be developed. Before the arrival of BMW and their dumper truck full of cash the 6.75 was good, but too flawed to be great.

Indeed, the V12 BMW is a masterpiece in its own right, but that's for another thread.

 

[CXRAndy]

Just awaiting a Tesla owner to appear and tell us their washing machine is faster (well they both come in white mainly). Yeh but a Tesla sounds rubbish.

I have a 6.2 V8 and Tesla's. I like both, the V8 is super smooth, but- you know the rest of the sentence

 

[Drago]

Isn't if funny that until a few years back it was all about poowwweeeerrrrr and performance and quarter mile times, but now electric cars are running rings around them it's all about the noise? Odd that.

 

[figbat]

Whilst I admire the sensory impact of various old-skool V8s, the BMW S65 is a real peach, and sounds amazing at 8,000+ rpm.

 

[Jameshow]

Albeit it didn't achieve the pinnacle until BMW bought the firm and there was budget to house train the design with better reliability, driveability and economy while waiting for the new V12 engined BMW powered models to be developed. Before the arrival of BMW and their dumper truck full of cash the 6.75 was good, but too flawed to be great.

Indeed, the V12 BMW is a masterpiece in its own right, but that's for another thread.

Not so the 6.75 V8 continued under VW.
Whilst BMW used the V12 and 4.4 V8

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce–Bentley_L-series_V8_engine

 

[Gunk]

Just awaiting a Tesla owner to appear and tell us their washing machine is faster (well they both come in white mainly). Yeh but a Tesla sounds rubbish.

Not if it’s got a V8 in it!


View: https://youtu.be/x-6kHjF1U1E?si=6Ac59-shKc6pvrSV

 

[HMS_Dave]

I've had a few v8's in my time. Rover V8's are gutless in standard form. They eat camshafts, eat gaskets, larger capacity Rover V8's drop cylinder liners, cracked blocks are common and their oil pumps are on a level that would make chinesium seem like chobham tank armour, not to mention they love to leave an oil slick on the roads....

A well sorted R-V8 is a fine motor, preferably with some sort of blower. But that's after thousands are chucked at it and it is then very regularly serviced.

There are a number of better V8's manufactured in the UK throughout the history of the R-V8 in my opinion.

 

[Drago]

Not so the 6.75 V8 continued under VW.
Whilst BMW used the V12 and 4.4 V8

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce–Bentley_L-series_V8_engine

And what did the new owners do to the unit?

The process of evolving the engine was gradual and continuous; by 2006 almost all the 1959-specification engine components had been upgraded

It didnt really come of age until the hun came along. The political ins and outs are quite complex, but in essence BMW had wl43ary been supp,ying engines to RR and withdrew support deliberately before VW had the time to design an engine and then engineer the car to accept it, thus forcing VW to invest in sorting the 6.75s many shortcomings as a short term fix.

Dont believe every word you read on Wikipedia. They're not  that credible.