Researching this article, we realized for a manufacturer’s product to even have a shot at making this list of the 10 most powerful V8 cars, the vehicle would have to have at least 557 horsepower. Absolutely insane (in a good way…) this meant the Cadillac CTS-V was edged out by one horsepower!
Another thing we noted during the compilation of this list is most of these engines use the automotive equivalent of performance-enhancing supplements. Yep, for the most part, they’re juicing y’all—big time! In this case we’re talking forced aspiration through either a pair of turbochargers or a supercharger. The days of playing in these ranks with a normally aspirated powerplant are almost gone.
Before we go any farther, here are the qualifiers.
To make this list, a car has to be a mass-production automobile from one of the major automakers doing business in the United States. Yes, we know there are all sorts of cars like the Lingenfelter Corvettes out there making 800+ horsepower, but those are tuner cars made by specialty manufacturers. What we’re talking about here are production cars from mainstream manufacturers fitted with OEM parts.