Behemoth production engines – when bigger was better

They weren’t kind to the planet and they demolished fuel, but here’s a handful of production cars that had a monster block under the bonnet

Plymouth Barracuda 440 Super Commando - 7.2 litres

The 440 Super Commando 7.2-litre, 375bhp V8 eclipsed its rivals in a period where the simple answer to achieving superior straight-line speed was to drop a beast under the bonnet.

The Barracuda, a typical American muscle car, looked the part if you wanted to eat up Tarmac in short spaces of time and with, an air intake on the bonnet, it had all the bulges and brutish bodywork to ram home the message that if you wanted a race at the lights, you will lose. It was all about speed, and compromises had to be made to achieve that. The block was so huge that sacrifices had to be made elsewhere: no power steering, no brake servo. Why? Sorry, there’s no room for all that. The result of all this shoe-horning? Well, top speed was modest at around 130mph, but it could get from 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds, which is pretty impressive in its day. Essentially, the Barracuda was nothing more than a dragster for the road, but it looked fantastic and is now one of the most collectible cars on the market.

Dodge Viper (fourth generation) – 8.4 litres

Under the bonnet of the fourth-generation Viper lay a ridiculously large 8.4-litre V10 engine that produced 600bhp and 560lb-ft of torque (later the 2015 VX increased the power output to 645bhp). It was a blunt tool, wonderfully effective and, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, speed freaks could propel it from 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds and press on to a top speed of 202mph, if needed. The engine was robust and although one might assume that all that weight under the bonnet would compromise handling, the Viper, with decent suspension and a limited-slip differential, was surprisingly decent around corners.

Bugatti Royale – 12.7 litres

The Type 41 Bugatti Royale, as the name suggests, was designed as the ultimate luxury vehicle and, to meet those expectations, potential buyers would need a powerplant that would deliver that experience. The engine that Bugatti dropped into the engine bay was earmarked for the French Air Ministry – yep, it was an aircraft engine. Ultimately, it was never used in an aeroplane, but Bugatti repurposed the 300bhp straight-eight for the Type 41 Royale and the phrase, ‘job’s a good ’un’, surely must have rang out from the factory when it fitted in. With a three-speed gearbox, the Royale was capable of 100mph, which was fine for its day, but when you consider that a Dacia Sandero can match that, it feels like a lot of machinery for not much go. Only six Type 41s were built and, as a consequence, this extremely pricey car was snapped up, appropriately, by extremely wealthy buyers only.

Aston Martin One-77 – 7.3 litres

If you had £1.4 million knocking about in 2011, you might have been tempted to put your name in the ring for one of the 77 Aston Martin One-77s, but you’d need to put down £200k up front. Because it’s an Aston Martin there is some debate as to whether the One-77 is a hypercar or supercar, because let’s face it, hypercars are vulgar. The counter-argument, however, is that in terms of its engine size and outright performance it is a hypercar. Hand-built to order, the One-77 was powered by a 7.3-litre V12 engine that was developed and built by Cosworth. The UK engine specialist was told that 700bhp was required, and hey ho, it more than met the brief with 750bhp on tap.

Rolls-Royce Phantom II – 7.7 litres

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was not designed to go fast even though it had a 7.7-litre inline six-cylinder engine under the bonnet. 0-60mph could be achieved in a continental-drift-rivalling 21 seconds, while if you kept your foot in you might get up to 90mph. So, alacrity wasn’t a priority, but a super-smooth ride and refinement was. To achieve this, the engine had seven main bearings and also featured a one-piece cylinder head cast in aluminium. As a result, the Phantom II, according to reviews, is lovely to drive: there are no coughs or splutters when you get going and the four-speed manual gearbox (with later models having syncromesh on third and fourth gears) enhanced what is a quite wonderful driving experience.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport – 8 litres

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport became the fastest production car in the world when it achieved a 267mph top speed in 2010. There are plenty of reasons behind that record but, most importantly, it was the 8.0-litre W16 engine, replete with four turbochargers, that gave it the required performance. This car was all about the numbers: 1200bhp, 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds, 922lb-ft of torque. All this required out-of-the-box thinking particularly with regards to cooling and lubrication. In total, the Veyron Super Sport had ten radiators including three air-to-liquid intercooler loop radiators, one air conditioning condenser, one transmission oil radiator, one differential oil radiator and one engine oil radiator. It had more radiators than Buckingham Palace. Still, whatever you might think of this exercise in one-upmanship, the Veyron Super Sport still intrigues, inspires and fascinates those who are interested in hypercars and their impact on automotive technological development.

Chevrolet Suburban – 8.1 litres

No behemoth engine list would be complete without a big old SUV featuring, so the Chevrolet Suburban with its 8.1-litre powerplant fits the brief quite nicely. SUVs are heavy, bulky affairs where a big engine is not only preferable, but something of a requirement and therefore the Suburban needed something substantial to haul all that weight around. Thus, it made sense that Chevy chose to stick its biggest powerplant – the 8.1-litre Vortec V8 – in the engine bay. Delivering 340bhp, the Suburban wasn’t very fast but its 440lb-ft of torque at low revs was extremely useful, so much so that Chevrolet used the block for other applications including boats and large motorhomes. It was pretty short-lived, though, as concerns about fuel economy put paid to the Suburban’s future. Chevrolet axed it after only six years.