Graphed: 5.0-Liter V-8 Power

There’s something magical about five liters of displacement divided among eight cylinders. Right now, Ford, Jaguar/Land Rover, Hyundai, and Lexus are using them in various vehicles, and we haven’t found one that’s let us down yet. Whether naturally aspirated or supercharged, they all sing a great song and provide a healthy kick in the pants.

First, Jaguar uses a naturally aspirated 5.0 for the entry level of each model. Two blown versions of the same motor power the rest of the lineup, and a high-output version of the supercharged V-8 goes into the mighty Jag XKR-S. The three volume V-8s are also used by the Land Rover brand, but we left those off the chart for the sake of saving space and minimizing redundancy.

The Hyundai Genesis R-Spec and Lexus IS-F both use naturally aspirated 5.0-liter engines, but the bulk of the 5.0 variants go into versions of the Ford Mustang. The Mustang GT’s engine is the foundation for the rest, which include the hi-po Boss 302, as well as naturally aspirated and forced induction versions used by Shelby, Roush, and Saleen.

Naturally, there are other tuners out there who are able to coax extra power out of the various 5.0 engines, but we’ve gone ahead and charted out the main ones from Jaguar, Hyundai, Lexus, and Ford, plus the three popular tuners Shelby, Roush, and Saleen. Have a look, and be sure to tell us which is your favorite five-point-oh, whether it’s on sale today, or motivating a powerful car of days gone by.