The Return of the Gas-Guzzling, Huge-Engine Supercar
Why more V-12 and V-16 engines are coming out of factories, even as emissions standards grow tighter.
The Bugatti Tourbillon is is powered by an 8.3-liter, naturally aspirated V-16 engine.
Source: Bugatti
Aston Martin just unveiled its latest flagship model, the Vanquish. A muscular, carbon-fiber-bodied $429,000 coupe, it’s more luxurious and sporting than the DBS it replaces, featuring a coddling leather-and-cashmere interior and reaching a top speed of 214 miles per hour, the highest ever of any Aston series production vehicle. Motivating it is a new twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V-12 engine that produces 824 horsepower, a significant increase from the 759 hp of its predecessor’s V-12.
Aston’s beast joins a host of all-new six- and seven-figure supercars—including the $423,000 819 hp Ferrari 12Cilindri, the hybrid $604,000 1000 hp Lamborghini Revuelto and the $4 million 1800 hp Bugatti Tourbillon—that feature 12- or 16-cylinder gas-powered motors, generally in larger and more potent forms than their progenitors.