4. Dodge 8.0-Liter V10
In the late ’80s when Dodge started the Viper sports car project, the company didn’t have a proper, high-performance, high-output engine. Back in the day, American car manufacturers just started producing engines with substantial power. The biggest power plant Dodge had was the 5.9-liter V8 that produced 230 HP. The Viper project demanded a bigger, more powerful engine. The Dodge engineers produced a couple of prototypes using the 5.9 Magnum block with two more cylinders, creating the V10 configuration. This engine proved to be promising, so Chrysler decided to develop it for sports car use and for the truck division as well.

The final version grew to an enormous 8.0-liters or 500 CID. Also, the V10 configuration was quite exotic for a mainstream American carmaker. The truck V10 had an iron block and internals to provide torque as well as power along with durability under hard working conditions. The sports car version had an aluminum block and more power for better performance. You may have heard that the V10 in the Viper is the same engine Dodge used in its trucks but that’s not true. They are similar in construction and architecture, but the materials and output are not the same. Also, not many of the components are interchangeable. The first-generation Viper engine produced 450 HP and 490 lb-ft of torque, which were impressive numbers for the early ’90s.