Five Things: cars with downsized engines

Monday, 8 March 2021

Here are five cars that pack the same - or even more - power, but have drastically downsized engines.

As fuel consumption and emissions have become more and more important, carmakers are turning to turbocharging, dropping cylinders and electrification to keep their vehicles on the right side of the environment while still improving performance.

Here are five current models that have smaller engines while packing more performance.

Mercedes-Benz C 63

This is the new C-Class, which is only powered by four-cylinder engines. Yes, that will include the C 63 too.

The most infamous on this list is probably the C 63. Mercedes-AMG initially gave it a 6208cc naturally aspirated V8 (and for some reason a “63” badge) in the car’s first outing, back in 2008. While it missed out on the 5.5-litre biturbo V8 other AMG 63 cars got from 2011, in 2014 the engine was swapped for AMG’s 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, where it has remained since.

As epic as the M550i is, the badge is a lie – this has a 4.4-litre engine, not a 5.0.

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The 911 Carrera went to all-turbo 3.0-litre engines a few years ago, dropping from 3.8-litre naturally aspirated units.

Well, up until now, because it’s all but certain the new C 63 will be powered by the 2.0-litre turbo-four from the A 45 S along with an electric motor, offering even more power than the current V8 with a total of 410kW and 800Nm.

Ford’s epic GT supercar went from a 5.4-litre supercharged V8 to a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6. Guess which makes more power.

Any BMW that isn’t an M car

BMW names its cars with three digits – the first indicated what series the car belonged to while the second two used to reference the size of the engine. For example, a 330i was a 3 Series with a 3.0-litre engine. Now, most of those badges are still in rotation but they don’t really mean much aside from showing where in the range a car is.

We haven’t had the Mondeo for while but Europe still gets it, complete with an emissions-friendly 1.0-litre triple.

You can still buy a 330i now but the badge is a bit of a lie. These days, the model is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder. Same goes for the M550i above – it still has a V8 but it’s a 4.4-litre not a 5.0.

Porsche 911 Carrera

Going back to the 996 generation of Porsche 911, the Carrera line-up was powered by a 3.4-litre flat six. The 997 generation featured both 3.6-litre and 3.8-litre engines, depending on spec, but the mid-life update in the 991 generation saw a drop down to 3.0-litres for the Carrera and Carrera S models.

They gained turbochargers to boost power from 294kW to 309kW in the Carrera S while torque jumped from 400Nm to 500Nm. The new cars were more powerful and faster to boot, but didn’t quite have the same aural thrills as before.

Ford GT

The Ford GT might exactly count as attainable but that’s okay. In 2005 we saw the ‘new’ GT debut with styling aped from the iconic GT40 of the 1960s, along with a supercharged 5.4L V8 good for 410kW/678Nm. It sounded fantastic, but that’s probably a given.

The model lasted a couple of years before quietly retreating, only to come back in 2017 with more modern looks and a more modern powertrain. The second-generation used a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 with 492kW/745Nm (as of 2020).

Ford Mondeo

The Mondeo hasn’t been around these parts for a while now but it’s still kicking over in Europe. In its heyday, you could get a Mondeo with a range of four-cylinder engines, spanning 1.5-litre to 2.0-litres, as well as a couple of high-performance 2.5-litre V6s.

That was then, however, and this is now, a time when the Mondeo can be had with a tiny little 1.0-litre turbo triple. It makes as much power as the entry 1.8-litre from the Mk3 (92kW) but consumes less fuel.