AutoblogGreen

The Nissan GT-R has a 6 cylinder engine. Car&Driver magazine clocked it at 3.3 seconds to go 0-60. That's quick enough for me.

The V-8 will eventually go the way of the Brontosaurus and Woolly Mammoth.

Reply

And Rex Roy!

Reply

I think GM ought to highly consider bringing this car to America .... the 2008 Holden 60 Coupe. All I could say is .... wow, this is like the perfect exterior design for the Volt. I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I could.

http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/269977,15074,0,0/2008_Holden_Coupe_60_Concept_Photo.aspx

http://www.holden.com.au

Holden is a GM subsidiary from Australia. Put the E-Flex powertrain in it. Somehow price it around $35,000 (after good government incentives) and I guarantee you that GM would have a hard time keeping up with demand for it.

Put series hybrid (Volt) technology under the skin of a nice looking car like this and it could be a phenomenon .... the biggest car in GM history maybe. It would be like the Tesla Roadster and get a lot of good publicity and reviews. A real attention getter. It would probably help make all the new hybrid electric cars be in high demand and really get the electrification of the automobile going.

If GM wants to have a really good "halo car" to be the flagship for GM technological leadership this would be it. :)

Reply

BlackbirdHighway, I do not know what the mpg of the GTR is, but I would bet it is the same or not as good as the ZO6 Vette.

Reply

rar,

I agree completely. Just as a V-8 is not the only way to get power, it's also not the only way to get poor mileage.

So what about that car that does 0-60 in under 4 seconds, with no cylinders at all? They call it the Tesla!

Point is, there's more than one way to make a fast car, and now that we're in the 20th century the oldtimer American idea that you absolutely HAVE to have a V-8 is dinosaur thinking.

Reply

If you are still dumb enough to buy a V8 then go ahead. I am not going to stop you. But, don't start whining and crying when you go to fill up your gas tank. I will have absolutely no simpathy for you. I'm green and proud to be green. It's not our fault V8's are loosing market share. It plain and simple, let the market take it's course. Isn't that a right- wing nut jobs montra? Let the old ways of doing business of waste move over for those of efficiency. Now that we are getting closer to paying the true cost of energy we are starting to value it. That is not the liberals doing it, is reality catching up. Finally!

Reply

GM Volt Fan, that's a nice car. But, I would think a better vehicle to use would be the new Camaro, it's already been on the road and I'm sure has been crash tested. The styling is retro and it would make an exciting model for the Volt driveline, whichever one they are going to use.

Reply

I don't understand why people have such preconceived notions about a cylinder configuration. You can make a V-8 engine any size you want. For instance, in 1955 Moto Guzzi made a V8 engine for a Grand Prix motorcycle that was only 500cc:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moto_Guzzi_Grand_Prix_500_cc_V8

Leaving aside that extreme example, there's no reason a 2.0 liter V8 couldn't be built for a reasonable price. Load it up with all the technical tricks of modern engines, and there's no reason its performance couldn't meet the expectations of an American driver.

From a marketing standpoint a V8 engine is a huge advantage. Many people today can remember when every "real car" in America came with eight cylinders. There's no reason to give up on an engine configuration with that kind of association. Until, of course, electric motors replace them all.

Reply

It isn't the "greenies" that will bring an end to the V8 era, it will be the rising cost of gas, and the growing electrification (both hybrid and BEV) of our automobiles. Face facts, in almost every aspect, electric motors are superior to IC engines - more compact, lighter, more efficient, better torque curve, much higher revving, less maintenance, less expensive, no emissions. If you miss that rumbling V8 noise, there are ways to simulate it electronically.

Reply

I don't understand that discussion at all.
V8 is just a cyclinder configuration. It has both benefits and drawbacks compared to other configurations, but aside from tradition in certain cultures there's nothing that sets it apart from any other internal combustion engine.
Therefor saying things like "The V8 will go extinct" is stupid. Certain performance-oriented, inefficient variants may disappear, but that's all.

Reply

I wonder if we should "dust-off" the turbine-car from the ashes? Like the Chrysler Turbine-car http://www.leblogauto.com/2008/02/breve-rencontre-chrysler-turbine.html we taught then the turbine car would had be the next "big thing" and more recently there was the turbine-supercar showed by Jay Leno at the SEMA 2006 http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/31/jay-lenos-bio-diesel-turbine-supercar-isnt-a-joke/

Reply

@Michael Hippenhammer- I agree fully. It is not like Rex is volunteering to go fight for cheap gas in Iraq, so I think he should just deal with the market taking its course.

Reply

The V8 era may be over, but it will be optional on many cars for many years yet. The idea that it must disappear is plain stupid - volumes will simply become smaller and smaller. If nothing else, some people in the remaining oil exporting countries will want them to help burn through their hugely subsidized gas.

Reply

anyone notice that congress passed a mileage standard? That has a lot to do with it I am sure.

Reply

V-8s aren't going anywhere.

Cylinder count /= efficiency

It takes the same amount of fuel to make 400HP in any car, regardless of engine size, all else being equal.

Besides, nothing else sounds as good except perhaps a Ferarri V-12. For that reason alone it will stay around.

Oh and "inefficient performance engine" is an oxymoron. A big, nasty V-8 may chug a lot of fuel, but that doesn't make it inefficient. The goal of every hotrodder is to squeeze every last bit of power out of the fuel being burned. Efficiency is key to performance. They're measuring efficiency in power output rather than in MPG.

It's all about perspective.

Reply

V-8’s will very likely become harder to find (limited to Corvettes and luxury brands) due to gas prices pushing demand for higher fuel economy cars, CAFÉ standards rising etc. Here’s irrational for you; because in the next 10-20 years this is a very real possibility that you may not be able to get a V-8 is pushing me to get one in a few years. Yes you can do wonder’s with FI, the Evo/STI, 335i, and GT-R prove this but there is something about the sound of a V-8 that you just can’t get with anything else (A blue 69 Camaro SS passed me on my commute in this morning going the other way on a two lane road. Even with the windows up the growl of that pushrod V-8 was like music to my ears. Only thing better I’ve heard is on a Ferrari or Lamborghini). I’m sure someday in the future I’ll need to get some kind of hybrid, diesel or plug in but I’m putting that off until I absolutely have to. Even then I’ll still have to have some kind of toy so I can still feel connected to the machine. I do appreciate all those who have and will be buying fuel efficient cars as that leaves more go juice for the rest of us.

Reply

First and for most I believe that we all should do our part in saving resources. I would love to have a fully electric car to go back and forth to work. (no need to go fast just to get to work) That said, I love the sound and the power of a big V-8. But there is no need to drive one everyday. Keep the V-8 and V-12, let them stay in the special sport car and supersport cars. Like collectors cars, they wouldn't be driven everyday and would not cause that much of a problem for the environment.

Reply

GenWaylaid, Das Boese and Shipey are correct.

V8s may become smaller and more exclusive, but they aren't going away. Europe has had $5-7/gallon gasoline for decades, yet several engines in excess of six cylinders are still offered.

Notwithstanding CAFE, V8s will disappear when the market for them is gone. But ordinary "Joe-six-packs" can probably kiss their chance at a cheap V8 goodby. However, exclusivity will only increase the mystique of V8 power.

http://speedzzter.blogspot.com/2008/03/is-v8-dead-under-35-m.html

OEMs could obtain reasonable mileage with a twin-turbo (or "twincharged") GDI four-valve V8 (with electric accessory drives, a "6 x 2" overdrive transmission, a mild hybrid "engine stop" system, cylinder deactivation, "on-boost" auxillary alcohol fueling (perhaps combined with water injection), variable valve lift and timing, variable geometry "ram tuned" intake manifold," two-stage intercooling (i.e. the Coletti "SuperCooler" system), and a multi-program ECU with a big "power volume" knob).

Of course, some turbo-diesels will also still be offered as V8s.

Given the psychological appeal and strong tradition of the V8, and the hypercompetitive world automobile market, the rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated.

Reply

The cross plane crank V8 is the lowest performance engine configuration you can make. Just use a V12, a flat plane crank V8, or a V10.

Secondly, shop displacement not cylinder count. I have relatives that live in New Mexico, they live about 5000 feet higher than I do. I could be very happy with the 3.3 liter V6 in the new Genesis, for them, it would take the 3.8 liter V6 to have comparable performance.

If the hillbillies want an obnoxious sounding LRLLRLRR firing engine so be it.

With modern transmissions, say the new 7 speed automatic from the new FX lineup, Nissan could/should offer the VQ40 V6 in the Titan. That would be a very capable powertrain.

In the future, if things go from bad to worse, a full sized pickup like the Titan would be powered by Nissan's QR25, but it would need a 9 speed automatic behind it.

Reply

Crankshaft configuration has little to do with power output or efficiency and everything to do with engine smoothness and vibration. Conventional and cross-fire ignition sequences yielded equal power output when intake and exhaust configuration are adapted.

When normally asperated, valve size and quantity govern maximum performance and they are dictated by cylinder size. That means an engine doesn't care what the firing order is if the cylinder is proper filled with combustable mixture.

Suggest you read Heywood's book on IC engines Mike W.

Reply