Ten cylinders used to belong on race tracks, in trucks and in very few road cars. Then, in the early 2000s, the V10 suddenly showed up in American roadsters, Italian exotics, German wagons and even a family SUV. Each one made more power than most drivers could use on a public road.
Some of those engines came from racing programs. Others came from engineers who simply wanted to see how far a luxury car could go. However, they all shared one trait. They made the car around them feel a little too strong for a commute, a school run or a grocery trip.
These are our picks: six V10 road cars that, in our view, were nearly too powerful for the street. The verdict is our opinion. The engines, outputs and figures below come from the makers, period road tests and auction and enthusiast records.
1. 2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10
Dodge rebuilt the Viper from the frame up for 2003, and the engine grew with it. According to the MotorWeek road test, the SRT-10 used an 8.3-liter V10, or 505 cubic inches, with an aluminum block. It made 500 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque. MotorWeek also clocked the run to 60 mph at 4.0 seconds.
The rest of the package was just as blunt. Power went through a six-speed Tremec manual with a short-throw shifter. The car came only as a roadster with a manual soft top. In addition, side-exit exhaust pipes returned for the first time since 1996. The base price was $80,795, which bought a stiffer steel spaceframe and 19-inch rear wheels that were 13 inches wide.
Our take: few cars put this much torque in the hands of anyone with a checkbook and a license. The Viper had ABS, but MotorWeek called it “less intrusive,” so the driver did most of the work. If you want the full story of how that V10 grew, our look at every Viper generation’s V10 output walks through it. For us, the 2003 car is where the engine started to feel almost too big for public roads.
2. 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo
The Gallardo became Lamborghini’s sales leader of its day. It debuted at the Geneva show in March 2003. Its 4,961 cc V10 used a 90-degree layout with an 18-degree crankpin offset, according to Lambocars’ specification sheet. The engine made 500 bhp at 7,800 rpm and 510 Nm of torque.
Those numbers translated into a quoted 315 km/h, about 196 mph, at the top end. Lambocars also lists 0–100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. Buyers could pick a six-speed manual or the “e-Gear” robotized gearbox with paddles on the steering column. Lamborghini kept the Gallardo in production from 2003 to 2013, and it built 14,022 of them at Sant’Agata Bolognese.
So why put a best seller on this list? In our view, the Gallardo made a 196-mph car feel normal enough to drive every day, and that is the risky part. All-wheel drive helped keep it calm. Even so, a V10 that pulls hard to nearly 8,000 rpm will tempt any owner on any on-ramp.
3. 2008–2010 Audi RS6 Avant (C6)
Audi took a station wagon and gave it two turbochargers and ten cylinders. In a buyer’s guide, evo lists the C6 RS6 with a 4,991 cc twin-turbo V10. It made 572 bhp and 479 lb-ft, and that torque arrived from just 1,500 rpm. As a result, the 1,985 kg estate reached 62 mph in 4.5 seconds.
The car was not cheap to own, even then. New, it cost £77,625 in the UK, about £10,000 more than a BMW M5 Touring, evo says. The magazine also warns about oil pump seals. The part is cheap, but the repair usually means pulling the engine, and the bill can top £3,000. Audi never sold this generation in North America.
Our take: the RS6 Avant is the purest example of too much power in a sensible shape. It has room for a dog and a stroller, yet it makes more than many supercars. For that reason, we think it belongs near the top of any list of V10s that nearly outran the street.
4. 2005–2010 BMW M6 (E63)
BMW’s M division gave its big coupe a high-revving V10, and it did not hold back. According to BMW M’s own history of the E63 and E64, the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter engine made 507 hp at 7,750 rpm. The rev limit sat at 8,250 rpm, and the engine won Engine of the Year in 2005 and 2006.
Here is the telling detail. The M6 started up in a mode called P400, a 400-hp tune with softer settings for town. Only one press of a button on the center console released the full 507 hp. Then, a seven-speed SMG gearbox with 11 Drivelogic programs did the shifting. BMW built 14,152 cars, 9,087 coupes and 5,065 convertibles, and almost half went to the United States.
That power button says it all, in our opinion. BMW chose to start the car at 400 hp for town driving and kept the rest behind a switch. For us, that makes the M6 the most honest entry here. Even its maker seemed to treat the full V10 as a little much for the street.
5. 2007–2008 Audi S6 (C6)
In North America, the S6 was the fastest A6 you could buy, because the RS6 never came here. Its 5.2-liter V10 made 435 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque. Edmunds’ review says the engine is similar to the Gallardo’s, though Audi modified and detuned it. A six-speed Tiptronic automatic and quattro all-wheel drive were standard.
The numbers were strong, but the car was heavy. Edmunds put it at nearly 4,500 pounds. Its testers measured 0–60 mph in 5.7 seconds, slower than Audi’s claimed 5.1 seconds. They also ran the quarter mile in 14.0 seconds. Meanwhile, the MSRP landed at about $72,000 with destination.
Our take: the S6 shows another side of the V10 story. It was a business sedan with an exotic-car engine, and it hid that engine well. Critics wanted sharper handling, and that is fair. Yet a family sedan with ten cylinders and 435 hp felt like plenty for a highway commute, and we think it still does.
6. 2004–2008 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI
The wildest V10 on this list is a diesel in a Volkswagen SUV. The engine displaced 4,921 cc and made 313 PS, or 309 bhp. More importantly, it made 553 lb-ft of torque at just 2,000 rpm. The Truth About Cars tested a 2008 model and described a 90-degree V10 with twin turbochargers and an 18:1 compression ratio.
That review timed the 5,825-pound SUV at 7.5 seconds to 60 mph, with a 144-mph top speed. The test truck retailed for $79,650. In the United States, VW offered the V10 TDI briefly for 2004 and then pulled it over emissions rules. It came back for 2006 and left after 2008, when stricter California standards arrived. VW also used a Touareg V10 TDI to tow a Boeing 747 in an advertising campaign.
Our take: no family SUV needs 553 lb-ft, and that is exactly why we love it. The Touareg V10 TDI feels like an engineering dare that made it to showrooms. For more ten-cylinder picks, see our earlier list of V10s so powerful they should have been restricted. If you shop for one now, budget for diesel service and find a well-documented example.
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