If one is to arbitrarily choose a V angle for packaging reasons, why stop at 60 degrees? Why not go to a V-8 friendlier 45 degrees? Or get all VW-erific and go super narrow? I truly believe that the only reason 60 degrees was selected is because it shared architecture with a V-6 or V-12. And the closest Volvo ever…

Sorry, but the SHO V-6 is most definitely based on the Vulcan. Going to the Ford Motorsport catalog we can find a nice table of engine dimensions (see attached link to pdf). The Vulcan and the 3.0 SHO share several minor dimensions like bore, stroke, and main journal diameter. But the more telling shared dimensions…

I'm with you 100% when it comes to any excuse to post a pic of a SHO engine.

... just to see how it feels

Unfortunately you must have risk to have things worth remembering. Our culture has become incredibly risk-averse and this cultural shift is obvious when you look at track design, as stated in this article. Also, don't ever forget that the great drivers who died were not forced to race. They were volunteers. They…

Awesome read! I always wondered what happened to the soul of racetracks, and I think you may have figured it out. Risk mitigation. Will COTA be legendary in a Spa Francorchamps kind of way 50 years from now? Doubtful.

Jesus

It is mostly Yamaha's handiwork. They designed the head for the old SHO v6 (which used a Ford Vulcan v6 block). They did such a good job that Ford asked them to help design a v8 based on the Duratec v6 architecture. That's why the SHO v8 was a 60 degree engine, instead of a 90 degree.

Lee Iacocca literally bet the company this would sell... and it did!

Agreed a thousand times. It was an especially huge risk when you consider it's competition...

My 2008 Honduh Civic Si is pretty much functioning as new as it crests 100,000 war-torn miles. I beat the living tar out of it on a daily basis and have since the day I drove it out of the dealer showroom (literally, it was the one they parked inside). I'm no fan-boi, but every day I drive proof that Honduh doesn't…

I like the V-6, but it's kinda too old for this list (I know it was barely available in the last 20 years, but it was born in the 80s).

If you want something lumpy and unsmooth, maybe you need a Chevy Citation in your life. I hear they're the car of the future.

Well, Ford tried that trick with the V6 back in the mid 90s, so have a go at it!

Fine. Then I will return to the "Subarus sound like a goat humping a broken lawnmower" argument.

Not sure if those pics are coming through... the KinjaNet might be fully dysfunctional today...

They're not THAT bullet proof... glass transmissions and head gasket failures bla bla bla

No, the Porsche intake is nowhere near as attractive. Hell, it's not even the same single plenum design.

The Ford SHO V-8. The intake manifold alone is a piece of art. Just don't forget to pin those cams!