You know the Lexus LFA, Carrera GT and M5. Now we look at other surprising cars with a V10.
We recently had to say goodbye to two special cars with a V10. In March the last Audi R8 rolled off the production line (a yellow one!) and this week it was time for the last Lamborghini Huracán. Now that is not very strange, because those two cars are related.
With the demise of Audis supercar and Lamborghini's smallest, to our knowledge there are no longer any cars with a ten-cylinder on board. The V10 has always been a bit of a strange engine. In many cases, a manufacturer goes for the V12, or they make a powerful V8. A V10 is mainly chosen for the emotion. To make something special. With a special character, different timbre and unique sound.
We have already made a list of ten epic ten-cylinder engines. And yes, there you will find the LF-A, Carrera GT and R8. We are now going to discuss some cars that we skipped!
Devon GTX
2009
We'll start with the Devon GTX. That car may be known to people who have played a lot of Forza Motorsport 4. Devon Motorworks was Scott Devon's company. Dodge had just finished the fourth generation Viper. The idea was to make the Viper lighter, more compact, faster and more luxurious. So also a bit more expensive. Since Chrysler discontinued the Viper, Devon wanted to take over the chassis. That seemed to go well, but Devon's offer was too low for Chrysler. As a result, the entire project ultimately fell through. Two cars were made. Incidentally, Chrysler ultimately saw room to release the Viper again. That fifth generation came in 2013.
Ford Shelby GR1
2005
The success of the Dodge Viper was not lost on Ford either. In fact, they also wanted such a supercar themselves. Now they already had the Ford GT, but that was an exotic supercar according to the recipe. It could have been a little more raw, unpolished and brutal; a big GT with a huge engine in the nose. The Ford GT was a collaboration between Shelby, Lotus, Aston Martin, BBS and Saleen, all very expensive suppliers. The engine of the Ford Shelby GR1 is a 6.4 liter Modular V10, so in fact a V10 variant of Ford's Modular V8. Hence the term 'Modular'.
The car drawn by George Saridakis had 600 hp. Ford wanted to put the model into production, but the bean counters put a stop to it due to a sales forecast that was too mild. Superformance (which also makes Cobra and GT40 replicas) is currently working on getting the car street legal for small series production. Then it will get 'only' a V8. With 750 hp, the GR1 has more power than the original.
Vermot Veritas RS-III
2009
Mention the BMW S68 engine and everyone will complain about its reliability. Bearing shells, water pump: everything can be broken. It is an exotic engine and they sometimes have flaws. The V10 was supplied in the BMW M5 and M6, but other companies were also knocking on the door. Like Veritas. They made a kind of retro-style sports car, long before the Ferrari Monza, McLaren Elva, SLR Stirling Moss, and so on. A heroic roadster with an extremely low weight, zero luxury and an epic V10.
Veritas used to be (before the Second World War) a brand that converted old BMW 328 racers into spartan roadsters. In this case it is actually no different. Initially the car was presented in 2001 with a V12 from BMW Motorsport, but in 2008 (when the car finally had to go into production) the V10 from the M5 was used. The transmission was also taken over. In terms of performance, which is reflected in rainbow colors in your underpants, it was good: the car weighed only 1,080 kg! Of the 30 that were planned, 30 were actually built. That is unique.
VLF Force 1
2016
Henrik Fisker has been involved with the most beautiful cars, this VLF Force 1 is also one of them. Based on the Dodge Viper VX-I, VLF came up with this special car. The V stands for Villareal (businessman), the L for Lutz ('Maximum' Bob Lutz, ex-GM honcho and Tesla hater) and the F for Fisker. The latter was still working on ten-cylinder cars instead of electric cars (which is what he is trying to do now). Nearly all of the Viper's drawbacks were addressed. The chassis was thoroughly overhauled, with active suspension. The idea was to build 50 for almost 3 tons in dollars. Ultimately, 5 pieces were made.
Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ3 Stradale
2010
Yes, there is an Alfa Romeo with a V10! The story behind it is less exotic than you might think. This car dates from the period when the merger between Fiat and Chrysler/Cerberus (FCA) was very early. The TZ3 is based on the Dodge Viper – which always has a V10. The proportions of a Dodge Viper are of course very nice and the Alfa Romeo variant also benefits from this.
At Zagato they proved that the Viper could be MUCH nicer if you put in a little effort. The car got a fastback-esque rear. Despite the lack of spoilers, 'Alfa' used the powertrain of the ACR-X, not the regular Viper. The 8.4 liter V10 was therefore good for 600 hp. Ultimately, 9 copies were built. A huge improvement was achieved in the interior with very nice leather and an Alfa logo on the Chrysler steering wheel. But it still remains a bit plastic fantastic. As Italian as a full-fat Hawaii Pizza, but still cool!
Wiesmann Roadster MF5
2008
Wiesmann started out as a BMW tuner (MST Wiesmann) and supplier of hardtops and sunroofs. Their dream was to always make their own sports car. In many cases such a project fails, but Wiesmann came very far. Initially, relaxed six-cylinder engines were used. Later Wiesmann discovered that the margin per car is more important than the number of cars, so the Wiesmanns became more exotic. The MF5 Roadster is extremely rare: only 43 were made, while 55 were planned. The coupe was slightly more popular, but fewer than 200 were built in total. Be careful that you don't have a later model, because just like the M5, the MF5 eventually got a biturbo V8.
Honda NSX
2008
But the Honda NSX has a V6, right? Ultimately yes. But Honda actually wanted to make a successor with a V10. It was not just an idea, but also really 'a car'. Honda was testing for years. Just like with the Lexus LFA. There are many similarities between those cars. The only difference is that Lexus continued and Honda dropped out. But they were working on it. Initially they had a heavily modified S2000, with a V10 in it to make test laps on the Nordschleife.
The engine reportedly had a swept volume of 5.5 liters, good for at least 550 hp. The rest of the drivetrain was more like a Nissan GT-R: the transmission was a dual-clutch automatic and the car had all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, the 2008 credit crisis put an end to Honda in Formula 1 and this particular NSX V10 project. The effort was not entirely in vain, because the Honda HSV-010 would see the light of day. Yes, that is a race car (JGTC), but one based on a car that was ready for production.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Spyder (with manual transmission!)
2012
Initially we wanted to name the Lamborghini Calá, but we already had it in the previous list. The Calá itself did not come into existence, but the idea of the Cala did. A smaller model with a V10 instead of V12. Naturally, the focus was on four-wheel drive versions. The 'e-gear' transmission was also popular. But you could also order many versions of the Gallardo with a manual transmission. The nicest is the LP550-2.
The idea came with the Balboni edition and was later included in the range. Until 2013, you could simply order a Gallardo with rear-wheel drive and manual gearbox. No spoilers, no weird wheels, no crazy colors, no crazy details. Just a sleek Italian compact sports car with a naturally aspirated ten-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive and a manual gearbox. Oh, and choose the Spyder, then you'll hear that V10 even better. The loss of stiffness and increase in weight is not too bad.
McLaren Solus GT
2023
The McLaren F1 had an eight-cylinder, everything after that a V8, right? That's almost right. Of course, McLaren is now also using the V6 (in the Artura), but they do have a V10. The McLaren Solus GT is a car from the so-called 'Ultimate Series', the hyper-exclusive club of fast McLarens (such as the Senna and P1). The car was built specifically for track days. Under the hood we find a 5.2 liter naturally aspirated V10.
This does not come from McLaren, but from Judd. This engine produces 840 hp and 650 Nm. Even more fun is the maximum speed of the ten-cylinder: 10,000 revolutions per minute! 25 of them were built for very wealthy track day enthusiasts. Funny detail: the car was designed by Robert Melville, who, strangely enough, did not design the cars for GTA 5.
Board Excursion
2000
In the Netherlands you could get the Ford Explorer, a model above the Escape and large enough for most. In the US it was possible to order a Ford Expedition: it was even bigger. But before anyone really had a lot of children and often had to tow boats, there was the Ford Excursion. That was a huge device that you also happened to be able to get with a V10. In this case it's a fairly rudimentary approach to the concept.
The Triton V10 was simple and had a swept volume of 6.8 liters. The maximum power of 310 hp does not mean much. The torque of 576 Nm is even a bit disappointing. In this case, the V10 was built to be reliable. Ford Excursions with this engine are a holy grail these days. Even with many kilometers on the odometer, they are sold for high prices, simply because they are no longer there. There is also nothing like it. Don't really think of it as a car, but a vehicle between a car and a truck. Because with this Excursion you can still do really heavy work.
That concludes my speech about surprising ten-cylinder engines. Again, if you want to see the standard LFA, Carrera GT and the like, they are in this article.
This article Ten surprising cars with V10 in a row! first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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