Power makes some cars great, such as the Bugatti Veyron or Ferrari F40. Big, screaming, or rumbling engines can almost define the character of both the car and the driver behind the wheel.
Some engines throughout history have barely scraped 100 horsepower. Equally so, plenty have gone upwards of more than 500 horsepower. Even today, despite a more energy-conscious world, some powerful cars are still available in the market.
We’ve compiled a collection of the 13 most powerful engines in production today. To make the list, they need to have impressive horsepower, no matter what else they have under the hood.
2025 Ford Mustang GTD Supercharged V8
While not yet on sale, the supercharged V8 under the hood of the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD will be one of the most powerful engines. When launched, the 5.2-liter V8 should have up to 800 horsepower, turning the Mustang into a full-blown supercar.
The Mustang GTD is, in effect, a road-going version of the current Mustang GT3. The 2025 GTD will be one of the most powerful versions of the Mustang ever produced, both from the factory and tuning houses.
Bugatti-Cosworth V16
Bugatti unveiled its next hypercar, the incredible Tourbillon, earlier in the summer of 2024 as production of the previous Chiron ceased. The Tourbillon is an entirely new ride with the same awe-inspiring styling you would expect from any Bugatti supercar, and the key to its success will be its massive new engine.
Under the hood will be a new Cosworth 8.35-liter V16 engine paired with three electric motors, two at the front and one at the rear. On its own, the engine produces a ludicrous 986 horsepower. With the added electric motors, it receives a boost of 789 to make a combined 1,775 horsepower. The Tourbillon breaks new ground as the first hybrid in Bugatti’s long and illustrious history.
Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 Cosworth V12
Gordon Murray’s exceptional GMA T.50 exploded onto the scene in 2023. This is the true successor to the McLaren F1, a supercar Murray also designed. It features a vast aerodynamic fan inspired by Murray’s Brabham BT46B F1 car. The party piece, however, is the brilliant Cosworth-GMA V12 under the hood.
The massive 4.0-liter V12 engine produces 654 horsepower in the standard T.50 and 700 horsepower in the T.50s Niki Lauda edition. That, plus the enormous fan sucking the car to the ground, makes the T.50 one of the fastest supercars currently on sale.
Ferrari F140 HD V12
Ferrari is no stranger to V12 engines. It’s one of the staple powertrains in the brand’s history, which is no different from its new 12Cilindri supercar. As the name suggests, it references the number of cylinders under the hood of this latest Prancing Horse.
The 6.5-liter F140 HD V12 produces 819 horsepower, although Ferrari has yet to reveal the torque figures of its new car. The new 12Cilindri is the replacement for the 812 Superfast, which has served the Ferrari range well for seven years after its introduction in 2017.
Rimac Nevera
While not strictly an engine, the Rimac Nevera is such a powerful hypercar that we thought leaving it off this list was wrong. The Nevera is the first electric production hypercar from Croatian company Rimac, which now owns Bugatti. Power for the striking Nevera comes from four liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors, one of which is placed at each wheel.
Combined, the four motors produce an almost unbelievable 1,888 horsepower, easily making the Nevera one of the world’s fastest production cars. Somehow, that doesn’t come at the expense of range, as the Nevera can still do 300 miles on a single charge, albeit not using the full 1,888 horses.
Aston Martin Valkyrie Cosworth V12
The intimidating and wild Aston Martin Valkyrie results from a partnership between Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies, and legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey. After many delays, the car finally launched in its production form in 2021.
Under the hood sits a Cosworth-developed 6.5-liter V12, naturally aspirated and paired with a single 160-horsepower electric motor. On its own, the V12 produces 1,000 horsepower for a combined output of 1,160. The Valkyrie is one of the most fearsome hypercars in the world and one that will enter the FIA WEC in 2025 in the top-level Hypercar category.
Red Bull RB17 V10
With Adrian Newey leaving the F1 team he served for 20 years in early 2025, his last project with Red Bull will be this curved beauty. The striking Red Bull RB17 hypercar is named after the planned 2021 Red Bull F1 car that never was, thanks to COVID-19 forcing a rule change.
The RB17 will have a massive V10 engine producing 1,184 horsepower under the hood. It is, in effect, the successor to the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Unlike the Valkyrie, though, the RB17 is designed as a track-only hypercar, with the intention of lapping some F1 tracks faster than a current Formula 1 car. However, Lanzante has announced it will work with Red Bull to create street-legal conversions of the RB17 if owners decide they want it.
Mercedes-AMG ONE Mercedes-Benz PU106B Hybrid E-turbo V6
On its own, the 1.6-liter Mercedes PU106B hybrid V6 under the hood of the AMG ONE hypercar is not a wildly powerful engine. In fact, the V6, the same used in the Mercedes 2016 F1 car, produces just 566 horsepower. However, by adding the whole package with the hybrid components and electric motors, the AMG ONE produces a staggering 1,049 horsepower.
The Mercedes-AMG ONE is the product of Mercedes’s crazy ambition to create a hypercar with a Formula 1 engine. Yes, it’s the same engine that powered Mercedes to both world championships in the 2016 F1 season, with Nico Rosberg winning that year’s crown. Delays have beset the project, but it finally entered production in 2022. Since then, it’s taken the performance car world by storm.
Koenigsegg Jesko Twin-Turbo V8
Swedish performance car manufacturer Koenigsegg is another brand that knows something about high-performance engines. One of its most recent creations, the striking Jesko, brilliantly showcases this with its incredible twin-turbocharged V8 powertrain.
No hybrid power is on show here. The massive 5.1-liter twin-turbo V8 produces 1,280 horsepower on regular gasoline. If you use E85 octane in the Jesko, power will shoot up to a dizzying 1,600 horsepower. The Jesko is an impressive feat of engineering, with active rubber mounts reducing engine vibrations in the cabin, and the two turbochargers have an electric compressor that feeds pressurized air to the turbochargers at a pressure of 20 bar, all to reduce the turbo lag.
Koenigsegg Gemera Twin-Turbo 5.0-liter V8
If you thought the Koenigsegg Jesko was wild enough, wait until the new Gemera enters production. Unveiled at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, the Gemera will enter production in 2024, and it will be another hybrid from the Swedish performance car manufacturer.
Initially, Koenigsegg planned on producing a hybrid inline-three engine for the Gemera. In July 2024, the company announced it would no longer do so, as few buyers had opted for the 2.0-liter engine. While Koenigsegg will still produce the engine, the Gemera will go on sale with a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 under the hood, producing 2,300 horsepower and 2,028 lb-ft of torque on E85 octane.
Lotus Evija
Like the Rimac Nevera, the Lotus Evija is another extremely powerful, high-performance electric hypercar. The Evija also marks a massive change in direction for Lotus, which is set to go all-electric by 2028 at the latest.
At the heart of the Evija are four electric motors, combining to produce 2,012 horsepower. The hypercar debuted in 2019 with an impressive 0 to 60 mph time of under three seconds. Production began in July 2023, with Lotus producing just 130 units in total.
Aspark Owl
The Aspark Owl is a bit of an enigma in the automotive world. Japanese company Aspark unveiled the car in 2020, and since then, its development has been very up and down. However, production has finally begun, and the 50 units should slowly start to reach customers.
Like the Evija and Nevera, the Owl is another electric hypercar. It, too, has four electric motors under the hood, combining to produce 1,984 horsepower and 1,475 lb-ft of torque. The Owl’s range is also impressive, with an extended range of 280 miles on a single charge.
Hennessey Venom F5 Twin-Turbo V8
After evolving the Lotus Elise/Exige with the Venom GT, Hennessey unveiled its first bespoke hypercar in 2020: the Venom F5. Thanks to its 6.6-liter Fury twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the F5 has instantly become one of the most powerful production cars in the world.
This massive engine produces a staggering 1,817 horsepower and an equally mind-blowing 1,193 lb-ft of torque. The Venom F5 is also fast, with Hennessey stating that the hypercar can theoretically reach a staggering top speed of 328 mph, although the aim is to at least break the 300 mph barrier.
