1. Caterham R500

Although probably not what you'd class as a traditional supercar, there is no doubting that the bonkers R500 has supercar slaying potential and that DNA runs right down to the core of it's powertrain. 

Co-developed with Minster Racing Engines, Caterham took the venerable 1.8 litre Rover K Series into the laboratory and tortured it on the test bed, pushing it to the limits until it committed fiery suicide. Once they knew the absolute limit, they cranked it down half a notch so that it didn't quite explode, and fitted it in the 500kg 7 chassis to create the R500.

Producing and incredible 230bhp out of a theoretical maximum of 248bhp, nothing short of pure race engines, running on the absolute ragged edge of performance.

Surprisingly, despite the astonishing headline figure, neither of our two core parameters are maxed out. With 155lbft from 1.8 litres the specific torque is 'only' 85lbft/litre and with 24.4m/s at it's 9200rpm redline it actually ranks 8th for piston speed. 

With an NA PI of 927 the Rover K Series takes the crown as the most highly tuned NASP engine ever fitted to a production car. A record that is, sadly, unlikely to ever be broken as natural aspiration enters it's twilight years. #sadface

Want to figure out how you engine ranks?

You can read up the maths used to calculate the PI and check your own engine's PI here.

Want to check out a longer list?

We've listed 75 in a detailed table here.

Think we've missed one, or want to add yours?
Just email us the details and we'll get them added to the list! They don't have to be top performers, it'll be a bit of a laugh to check out some of the very worst too!

Like the line artwork?

How do you fancy one of those for your car, laser engraved along with a full technical specification on an aluminium plaque?

Sound interesting? Well, that's what we do when we're not comparing ultra-nerdy engine specifications, why not drop us a message and see if we've got one for your car?