The 12 best V6 engines ever fitted to road cars

Ford Duratec V6 – Noble M400 

Next to a BMW M3 or a Porsche 911, the Noble M400 looked like a jumped-up kit car with a Ford Mondeo engine, hoping to get close to two of the most famous names in performance cars. But the Noble was the honey badger of the sportscar world, a car well capable of taking down rivals that, on paper, it shouldn't have had a hope against. 

Surprisingly, its Mondeo engine played a significant role in that. Ford's 3.0-litre Duratec V6 was already worshipped by ST220 owners for its creamy power and aural excellence (if not its shocking fuel economy), and Noble strapping two turbochargers helped unleash the beast within. That turned the V6 from fast to psychotic, upping power from the standard 220PS (162kW) to 450PS (331kW) and 542Nm (400 lb ft) for 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and 187mph flat out. The stats were ferocious, but in terms of drivability, the M400 was a pussycat, its power delivery linear, you would have sworn it was naturally aspirated.

What the extra power did was open up one of the best chassis in the business. The M400 could grip or slide with the best of them, with a long-travel pedal the closest thing it had to traction control.

2GR-FE – Lotus Evora GT430 

The Evora GT430 is Lotus at its finest: light, agile, involving and also darn quick. And in many ways, it's the Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 that makes the car. The supercharged V6 has torque when you want it and a howling top end when you don't, something the GT430 only accentuates thanks to its standard-fit titanium exhaust, which turns blue as it gets hot.

In another supercar, 430PS (316kW) wouldn't seem like a great deal, but in a 1,300kg Lotus it is enough to get you from 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and onto a top speed of 190mph. It would be even faster were it not for an aero package that gives the 430 as much downforce as a Lotus 21 Grand Prix car — it's enough to knock a second off your lap time at Lotus' Hethel test track. Remove the rear spoiler, and the top speed increases by 6mph. 

And the GT430 is a car that feels at home on track. Its traction control system retards the engine's spark plugs rather than clumsily applying the brakes, meaning the electronic intervention feels smoother and less intrusive, like a helping hand rather than a policeman's arm lock.

D35 – Ford GT V6

The Blue Oval's 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 might not appear exotic at first glance; it's more usually found in the company's pickup trucks, but when placed inside the Ford GT hypercar it becomes something very special indeed. 

While some manufacturers build road cars and then go racing in them, the GT was built as a racing car first and foremost, so if you want a supercar that treats the track as its natural habitat, then this is for you. Along with its carbon-fibre construction and pushrod suspension, the GT features active aerodynamics and carbon-fibre wheels. Still, its party piece is hydraulic suspension that allows it to drop to the road like it's curtseying. That basically cuts out body roll and lets the car get the best of its substantive aerodynamic package. 

The V6 engine, meanwhile, is delightfully simple by modern standards, using nothing more than twin turbochargers to summon up 638PS (469kW) and 746Nm (550lb ft) of torque, getting Ford's latest supercar from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 216mph. Even its gruff engine note is the perfect match for the blue-collar racer. 

J35 – NC1/2 Honda NSX

The original NSX was nothing short of revolutionary: a supercar that married reliability, usability and style with a gorgeous engine and handling signed off by Senna himself. While the original NSX was traditional in concept — naturally aspirated, mid-engined and rear-wheel drive — the gen2 model threw the rulebook out the window.

It has a twin-turbo V6 driving the rear wheels while three electric motors provide additional thrust, one assisting the engine, the other two powering the front wheels independently. There's no EV mode here, the electric motors exist to make the NSX quicker, and with 573PS (421kW) and 476lb ft (645Nm) of torque for 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 191mph they do that very effectively. The electric motors fill the torque gap before the turbocharged V6 comes on song. 

Initially met with scepticism in 2016, the car is now recognised as a forward-thinking supercar that proved Honda dared to build a machine entirely different from the original. 

F163CF – Ferrari F80

Once upon a time, a V6 in a Ferrari hypercar was unthinkable. Traditionally, a top-rung-of-the-ladder Ferrari demanded a V8 or V12. The F80 changes that narrative. Inspired by Ferrari's Le Mans-winning 499P, it's the pinnacle of the Prancing Horse and is powered by a V6.  

But it's not any old 'six'. Beneath the bodywork is a twin-turbo V6 that combines with three electric motors to produce 1,184PS (871kW), 0-62mph in just 2.1 seconds and a top speed of 217mph. Meanwhile, clever Multimatic suspension keeps the car level, allowing the aerodynamic package to generate 1,050kg of downforce at 155mph.

The seating arrangement should assure any worries that the F80 will feel clinically digital. The driver occupies a red-padded throne (an altar to motorsport itself) while the passenger gets fabric pads bonded directly to the car's carbon tub. The F80's genius isn't in its groundbreaking design, but that all its features come together to feel completely analogue. Isn't it a shame that just 799 F80s will be built? 

Dino V6 – Lancia Stratos

This is an engine that has seen action both in single-seater racing cars and two-seat soft-top cruisers. The Ferrari Dino V6, a 65-degree engine displacing 1.5-litres on the track, took a podium on its debut in the 156 F2. In road cars such as the Fiat Dino Spider, it displaced 2.0-litres and latterly 2.4-litres. The Dino V6 in its larger form eventually found its way into the incredible Lancia Stratos. 

PU106B – Mercedes-AMG ONE

Think race engines making their way into road cars is an old-fashioned notion? Think again. Meet the Mercedes-AMG PU106B V6, a bonafide modern F1 engine repurposed for use in the AMG One hypercar. To be clear, while demonstrably possible, doing this was a terrible idea, as the Merc-AMG bods have admitted.

Getting it to idle properly and pass emissions was a nightmare for engineers. In fact, it didn’t in some American states, meaning it can’t be homologated for sale over there. Merc-AMG bosses have admitted they ‘must have been drunk’ when deciding to make the ONE. Still, a championship-winning F1 engine in a supercar is really rather cool. 

Busso – Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

One of the most evocative V6 engines ever made was designed at the hand of Guiseppe Busso and most famously used in Alfa Romeo cars. It went through a number of iterations, featuring in numerous iconic cars, but we want to celebrate its last, most flamboyant outing. In 3.2-litre guise, it bejewelled the engine bay and smoked the front tyres of the 147 hatchback in hot GTA form.

We say bejewelled the engine bay, because the Busso is probably the most beautiful V6 of all time, with its polished inlet pipes and red Alfa Romeo script. It sounded as good as it looked too giving a technical, effervescent rasp while producing 250PS (184kW). All that power to the front wheels without a limited-slip diff didn’t make for a great handling car, but it was for sure one of those cars you adored for the engine alone. 

VR38DETT – Nissan GT-R

Probably the most famous V6 engine among performance car fans is the VR38 DETT, otherwise known as the heart of the R35 Nissan GT-R. This twin-turbo 3.8-litre monster of tuning potential has served in the R35 for its entire 16-year run to date and is part of what allows the GT-R to still be competitive after all this time. Launched in 2007 with a humble 480PS (358kW), it got bumped as high as 710PS (529kW) for the GT-R50 by ItalDesign.

Outside the factory gates? The sky is virtually the limit, with VR38-based builds reaching upwards of 2,000PS. It’ll soon see service in the Praga Bohema hypercar and has been seen in everything from a Ligier DPi prototype, to the Renault RS.01 one-make racer. Surely one of the all-time greats.

Tipo F163 Piccolo V12 – Ferrari 296 GTB

History repeats itself these days as carmakers look to the past to secure a downsized future. In 2023, the mid-engined Ferrari supercar is once again V6-powered (albeit with some hybrid assistance). It’s not the power and performance that’s the most impressive about the 296 GTB, however.

It’s the sound and premium character. V6 engines can, if we’re being harsh, sound a little cheap compared with eight cylinders. Not so in the 296, with the unit very much earning the nickname its engineers gave it – Piccolo V12. It’s every bit the £250,000 supercar powerplant.

JRV-6 – Jaguar XJ220

The Ferrari 296 and Mercedes-AMG One are far from the first time weirdly small V6 engines graced some of the most desirable supercars in the world. But in the case of the Jaguar XJ220, there wasn’t just scepticism, there was aggressive objection. Why? Because what was promised to get a howling V12 and all-wheel-drive, actually wound up running a Rover Metro V6 with two turbos and rear-wheel-drive.

Massive numbers of orders were cancelled as a result and even now, it’s lagging behind its peers as a beloved vintage supercar and financial asset. Yet it remains a truly beautiful car, with a charismatic monster of a twin-turbo V6 engine with race pedigree – yes, that Metro it was from happened to be the 6R4 Group B monster.

C32B – Honda NSX-R

You didn’t think we’d forgotten it, did you? Of course not, because it’s arguably the daddy. Not just a great V6, but one of the all-time great engines. Was it particularly powerful? No, but by god, is it one of the best-sounding engines to hear from behind the wheel.

This is, of course, the C32B of the Honda NSX-R. Featuring VTEC variable valve timing technology, it revved while being reliable and paired with a sweet manual shift, it makes for one of the greatest retro supercar driving experiences money can buy.

Goodwood photography by James Lynch and Phil Hay.