SEO Keywords: Naturally Aspirated Engines That Are More Fun Than Their Turbocharged Rivals, Modern-day performance is built on forced induction, downsizing, hybridization, and pure electrons. The Yangwang U9 Xtreme, a 3,000-horsepower electric hypercar, is now the fastest production car in the world, having hit 308.4 mph at Germany’s ATP Papenburg circuit. Meanwhile, EV hypercars like the 2025 Rimac Nevera R can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 1.74 seconds. None of these numbers are achievable in a stock vehicle running just a naturally-aspirated engine. Still, for many people, it was never really about outright speed. Modern performance cars are so quick that you can’t even explore that power without ending up behind bars. Put your foot down in a Rimac Nevera for more than two seconds, and you’re not looking at a speeding ticket — you’re looking at an “I’m going to jail” situation. This is why people love older naturally-aspirated engines. They give you the feeling, the vibration, and the sound no EV or heavily turbocharged car can match today. And yet, you can still explore many of them relatively safely and enjoy the sound and feeling without going a gazillion miles per hour. In many ways, this is what made supercars a thing in the first place — the engine.
Enzo Ferrari is widely quoted as saying, “when you buy a Ferrari, you are paying for the engine. The rest you get for free.” Whether or not he said it exactly that way, it captures Ferrari’s founding philosophy: the engine came first, it defined the supercar, and it was a naturally aspirated one. Here are five naturally-aspirated engines that are more fun than their turbocharged rivals.
Ferrari’s 6.5-liter V12
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The Drive
counted every V12 currently on sale and found that of the entire group, only the Ferrari 12Cilindri and the Ferrari Purosangue skip turbocharging and hybrid assistance. In the 12Cilindri, the engine (codenamed F140HD) makes 819 horsepower at 9,250 rpm and 500 lb-ft of torque at 7,250 rpm, revving to a 9,500-rpm redline. This engine descends from the F140 unit first use
This engine descends from the F140 unit first use
