10 Scandalously Under-Appreciated Engines

We asked you which engines are too often overlooked - whether it's because of a more iconic engine available in the same car, or it's simply forgotten for no good reason - here are the best suggestions
10 Scandalously Under-Appreciated Engines

1. All Volvo five-cylinder engines

Suggested by TurboToddler - Volvo's five-pots are legendary, and are even responsible for the mk2 Ford Focus ST's character.
Suggested by TurboToddler - Volvo's five-pots are legendary, and are even…

2. Toyota 2T-G

Suggested by Luqman Hakim - This engine preceded the much-loved 4A-GE.
Suggested by Luqman Hakim - This engine preceded the much-loved 4A-GE.

3. Ford Barra

Suggested by Ethan Waked - A
Suggested by Ethan Waked - A

4. Alfa Romeo Twin Spark

Suggested by Muaz Yusof -
Suggested by Muaz Yusof -

5. Toyota 7M-GTE

Suggested by mstrcornelis -
Suggested by mstrcornelis -

6. Volkswagen Beetle engine

Suggested by On The Apex -
Suggested by On The Apex -

7. Volvo B4194T

Suggested by Julius -
Suggested by Julius -

8. Audi 3B

Suggested by Sarma lover - Placed in the Audi S2, it made an impressive 220bhp from 2.2 litres.
Suggested by Sarma lover - Placed in the Audi S2, it made an impressive…

9. Saab B234R

Suggested by Macez - It's
Suggested by Macez - It's

10. Toyota 3S-GE 'Beams'

Suggested by me -
Suggested by me -

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Comments

Siner

Does the Alfa GT has the twin spark engine?

04/06/2016 - 17:11 |
8 | 4
Robert B

In reply to by Siner

Depends on the model

04/06/2016 - 17:54 |
2 | 0
NyteetyN

Twinksparks are unreliable tho.

04/06/2016 - 17:18 |
4 | 2

who cares? They sound awesome!

04/06/2016 - 17:20 |
2 | 0
Commander Shepard

In reply to by NyteetyN

my 2.0 twinspark has 130.000km and 17 years of pretty much pure agressive driving and some track use and it runs perfectly, mechanically its pretty reliable, maybe its electronics tend to fail more than others.

04/07/2016 - 01:36 |
0 | 0

Not really, only if they aren’t looked after. It’s just more sensitive to abuse.

04/07/2016 - 06:21 |
0 | 0
Dat Incredible Chadkake

No murican engines on this list

04/06/2016 - 17:19 |
20 | 10

Because the performance of most American engines from the past don’t come anywhere close to the performance of the engines of the rest of the world. The 3s-ge beams engine in this post made 200 hp from a 2.0l 4 cylinder, whereas the 5.7l v8 in the Camaro from the same time period only made 190 hp.

04/06/2016 - 17:56 |
42 | 6

There are too many old American engines tgat are underrated. 70s V8s are really robust, they just need some tuning to unleash their true power.

04/06/2016 - 20:56 |
6 | 4

The people that discount the 90 camaros and foxbody mustang engines are sorely mistaken. Yes from the factory they are poor. Very poor in performance. This is not due to poor engineering though but due to emissions standards. Either one the lt1 or 5.0 Ford engine can be powerhouses with miniscule little effort.

04/06/2016 - 21:44 |
6 | 0

I’m sorry but when you can pull 250hp and almost 300 foot pounds out of a 2.2l and a vette the same year as my 1993 Audi S4 had 5.7l and had like 300hp you see how crappy american cars are for power ratings … Even today its laughable how many cubes / liters american engineers are given and they still come up short

04/08/2016 - 23:14 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Suggested by On The Apex - “That thing was so simple, it was produced for some 65 years. And you can change the timing belt while it runs!”

I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can change any timing belt while the engines running…

04/06/2016 - 17:26 |
88 | 0
On the Apex

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yup. Talked about the wrong belt , my bad. It is in fact the alternator belt as you said. Mistranslation ftw. Thanks for pointing that out!

04/06/2016 - 18:08 |
56 | 0
kgga

What about the BMW S38? I mean, it’s a 3.8L I6 and can put out over 1000 hp…

04/06/2016 - 17:27 |
4 | 4
MX-3

In reply to by kgga

Theoretically you CAN make most engines make over 1000hp

04/06/2016 - 17:29 |
12 | 0
Willgud

In reply to by kgga

S38, now that’s a real engine. How many other sedans in the 90’s were powered by an engine that in reality was a detuned race engine? Oh yeah, not many. S38 is love, S38 is life

04/06/2016 - 18:20 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

The LS2. The most under appreciated small block V8. Its power can easily be doubled to 800HP by some simple tricks like Kooks headers, Mild Cam, Compressor or Turbo.

04/06/2016 - 17:28 |
4 | 4
Kaspars

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

meh. Its too common and boring at this point, Suggested ones, are not so popular ones, which makes them great.

04/06/2016 - 17:31 |
6 | 2
Cascanova

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

You gotta understand that most of CT doesn’t know there are variations of the LS. at the end of the day, and LS9, or and LS2 is no different to them.

04/06/2016 - 19:30 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Change TIMEINGbelt while it runs? I dont think so. I think you meant the v-belt?!:D

04/06/2016 - 17:32 |
2 | 0
On the Apex

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I meant the alternator band, I mistranslated it :P

04/06/2016 - 18:12 |
0 | 0
Christian Prentice

Number 7!! Me gusta :) I don’t have that engine but I have the low pressure version for the states and it’s still awesome!

04/06/2016 - 17:34 |
0 | 0
James Boerema

My thoughts: Twin spark isn’t that unique.. my ‘97 Ranger had two per cylinder for a total of 8 plugs. Thought the 7m had garbage head gaskets, Beetle engine is not under rated, it powers damn near every dune buggy forty minutes from my house on the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. The buggies not powered by Beetle air cooled flat fours are powered by turbocharged LS7s.

04/06/2016 - 17:37 |
2 | 0

7m was plagued with head gasket issues, all motors have their weak spots, another engine that features twin spark is the Toyota 3t-gte also the la.e excuse for a motor that powers the Honda jazz/fit, it has the same by.bet of spark plugs as it does valves

04/07/2016 - 10:05 |
0 | 0
MikeyFD3S

There’s also the a-series…. Produced for over 50 years in various CC outputs from 850 up to 1275cc. Some people even bored and stroked them to 1430! Massively tuneable, with crossflow heads, turbo and supercharging and getting people in the classic minis with some impressive power. Mated to a gearbox fitted underneath it was a clever little package. And a loud twin webber setup coupled to a straightcut gearbox and drop gears is just bloody awesome!

04/06/2016 - 17:38 |
6 | 0