An ode to ICE: Top 5 best combustion engines (and the cars they powered)

Electric vehicles might be all the rage at the moment, but today we remember history’s greatest engines. From the small but mighty, to the big and lazy, these standout motors ooze character — and sometimes a little oil, too.

Since the first internal combustion car (Benz’s Patent Motorwagen) chugged off the production line 136 years ago, the four-stroke engine has been constantly evolving, improving, and adapting to meet the demands of the day.  

But, despite all being designed for the same basic purpose, manufacturers quickly discovered that when it comes to ICE, there’s more than one way to bake a cake. With cylinder counts spanning from one to 16 pistons, vee-shapes, boxers, rotaries — if you can think of it, someone’s built one. And, just like snowflakes, no two are the same.  

So, as eco legislation tightens its noose around the combustion engine’s neck, take a moment to celebrate some of the most charismatic and capable motors to ever make production.

5. F20C – Honda S2000

Famed for its legendary VTEC camshaft technology — offering an added kick of performance at the top end — Honda made a myriad of high-revving, small capacity engines throughout the late nighties and noughties. Of these powerplants, we think the F20C, as seen in the fabled S2000, was Honda’s most special.  

With its forged factory internals, this 2.0-litre 4-cylinder firecracker didn’t need the helping hand of forced induction to create an impressive 237 bhp (depending on the region), and spin to a stratospheric 9,000 rpm. In fact, it was so potent for its size, it held the record for highest specific power output until the Ferrari 458 dethroned it nearly a decade later.  

Honda’s engineering meant such performance didn’t come at the expense of reliability, either. Those racy components made the F20C bulletproof as standard, and it could even shrug off the added strain of an aftermarket turbo or supercharger. Founder, Soichiro Honda, would’ve been proud.

4. V10 TDI – VW Touareg  

What does VW’s gargantuan 5.0-litre, 10-cylinder turbo diesel have in common with Honda’s modest 2.0-litre four-pot petrol? Almost nothing, as it happens, and that’s all part of the beauty of internal combustion. 

In a time before burgeoning low emission zones, Wolfburg's finest were brazenly building a V10 behemoth that belched out 332 g/km of C02, and nobody batted an eye.

Obviously, it wasn’t particularly planet friendly, but the V10 TDI did have enough torque to tow one. While that’s an exaggeration, when fitted to the contemporary Touareg, the engine’s vast 553 lb-ft and 307 bhp managed to pull a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet in the hands of TV show, Fifth Gear. 

While the Touareg lives on, VW’s V10 diesel sadly, does not. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still own one: prices of used Touareg and Phaeton V10 TDI’s have dropped as low as £3,000 in some cases. Just make sure you fit quality tyres from the likes of Michelin, Continental, or Hankook, to transfer that formidable torque to the tarmac.

3. S54 – E46 BMW M3

But what about BMW’s legendary S85 V10? Well, while that F1-inspired engine was supremely characterful and extremely potent for the time, it’s simply plagued with too many terminal, wallet-ruining reliability issues to make it on this list.

That’s not to say BMW’s S54 3.0-litre straight six is trouble free, although it should make for a less nail-biting ownership experience. As for the good stuff… the M-Performance engine that was popularised in the E46 M3, sports a silky-smooth power delivery and a wonderfully hard-edged rasping note in the upper reaches of its 8000-rpm rev range.  

When dropped into arguably the greatest M3 of all time (the E46 CSL) and fitted with sticky high performance rubber such as Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4 S, the S54’s tractable nature lets you exploit the sporty coupe’s chassis in ways subsequent turbocharged models never could.

2. AML 5.9 V12 – Aston Martin DBS 

Born when Aston was still under Ford’s wing, you’ve probably heard the rumours that the marque’s sonorous V12 was the result of stitching two Mondeo V6s together. Unfortunately, though, such claims have dubious provenance – although, Aston Martin did use some Ford expertise and componentry when it made sense to do so.  

Co-developed by Cosworth under Ford’s commission, the 5.9-litre V12 saw service in Astons, ranging from the DB7 Vantage of the late nineties to 2016’s Vanquish S. Wherever it starred, this loveable lump was always the centerpiece and defining feature. 

Our favourite application has to be in the 2008 DBS — the hero car of James Bond classic, Casino Royale. Seen here in 510-bhp guise, it wasn’t the engine’s most powerful appearance. However, the sense of theatre evoked by using a sapphire crystal ‘Emotional Control Unit’ key, to fire the growling V12 into life is, frankly, still unmatched.

1. 1LR-GUE – Lexus LFA V10 

It’s not the biggest, most efficient, or even most powerful combustion engine to date, but we think Lexus’s 4.8-litre V10 is the best.  

Codeveloped by motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha for Lexus’s ultimate halo supercar, it’s hard to convey using mere words just how exquisite this engine truly is. For starters, so voracious is its appetite for revs, an analogue tachometer can’t keep pace — a digital cluster was used to track the engine’s 0.6-second flare from idle to 9000 rpm redline.  

Then there’s the symphonic sound, which not even Ferrari’s own V12s can best. And, while 553 bhp isn’t exceptional for a supercar — especially in a world of 650 bhp hot hatches — it just means you can enjoy working that V10 for longer at safe and legal speeds.  

Being a Lexus product, the 1LR-GUE will probably be faultlessly reliable too, although we can’t say for sure; few LFAs will ever rack up large mileages on account of their rarity and enormous £1 million resale value.

Let us know if you agree with our top picks, or why you think another engine deserves a spot on the list. 

Hero image credit: VW