Comparing the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Voodoo V8 to the best naturally aspirated performance engines of the past decade with specs and dynographs

Ford is doing something very special with the new Shelby GT350/GT350R Mustang. What is so special about it? That in this day and age where emission regulations are tightening ( and even toppling automotive giants ) Ford is able to deliver what many companies including BMW say can no longer feasibly be done.Well, Ford proves you can deliver a high performance and high revving naturally aspirated motor that is emissions compliant and do so in an economically viable manner. The manufacturers that said this could not be done simply wanted to pad the bottom line further. The Shelby GT350 Mustang starts at just under $50k making what Ford achieved here even more impressive. Keep in mind that every single engine on the list below was put in a car with a higher starting MSRP and in some cases by well over $100k above the GT350 starting price.As reported yesterday, the GT350 5.2 liter Voodoo V8 makes 467 horsepower to the wheels and 374 lb-ft of torque at the wheels . The BoostAddict network a few months ago compiled a list of the highest revving motors regardless of aspiration in 2015 . Now let's compare the best modern naturally aspirated performance engines produced in the past decade in the context of the new Ford GT350 V8 with their specifications plus Dynojet output.Displacement: 5.2 literHorsepower: 526Torque: 429 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 467Wheel Torque: 374 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 94.0 x 93.0Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8250Compression Ratio: 12.0:1Crank: Flat-planeDisplacement: 5.0 literHorsepower: 507Torque: 384 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 426Wheel Torque: 320 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 92.0 x 75.2Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8250Compression Ratio: 12.0:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 4.0 literHorsepower: 414Torque: 300 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 350Wheel Torque: 254 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 92.0 x 75.2Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8400Compression Ratio: 12.0:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 3.8/4.0 literHorsepower: 450/500Torque: 317/339 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 419/457Wheel Torque: 300/325 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 102.7 x 76.4 / 102.7 x 80.4Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8500Compression Ratio: 12.2:1 / 12.6:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 3.8 literHorsepower: 475Torque: 325 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 453Wheel Torque: 325 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 102.7 x 80.4Fuel Injection: DirectRedline RPM: 9000Compression Ratio: 12.9:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 4.3 literHorsepower: 483Torque: 343 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 396Wheel Torque: 290 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 92.0 x 81.0Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8500Compression Ratio: 11.3:1Crank: Flat-planeDisplacement: 4.3 literHorsepower: 503Torque: 347 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 427Wheel Torque: 296 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 92.0 x 81.0Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8500Compression Ratio: 11.9:1Crank: Flat-planeDisplacement: 4.5 literHorsepower: 570Torque: 398 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 448Wheel Torque: 317 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 94.0 x 81.0Fuel Injection: DirectRedline RPM: 9000Compression Ratio: 12.5:1Crank: Flat-planeDisplacement: 7.0 literHorsepower: 505Torque: 470 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 441Wheel Torque: 418 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 104.8 x 101.6Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 7000Compression Ratio: 11.0:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 4.2 literHorsepower: 430Torque: 317 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 352Wheel Torque: 301 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 84.5 x 92.8Fuel Injection: DirectRedline RPM: 8250Compression Ratio: 12.5:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 5.2 literHorsepower: 552Torque: 398 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 469Wheel Torque: 348 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 84.5 x 92.8Fuel Injection: DirectRedline RPM: 8500Compression Ratio: 12.5:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 6.2 literHorsepower: 510Torque: 457 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 436Wheel Torque: 397 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 102.2 x 94.6Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 7200Compression Ratio: 11.3:1Crank: Cross-planeDisplacement: 6.2 literHorsepower: 622Torque: 468 lb-ftWheel Horsepower: 510Wheel Torque: 398 lb-ftBore x Stroke (mm): 102.2 x 94.6Fuel Injection: PortRedline RPM: 8000Compression Ratio: 11.3:1Crank: Cross-plane1. Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series M159 - 5102. Lamborghini LP560-4 V10 - 4693. Shelby GT350 Voodoo V8 - 4674. Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS 4.0 Flat-6 - 4575. Porsche 991 GT3 Flat-6 - 4536. Ferrari 458 Italia V8 - 4487. Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 LS7 V8 - 4418. Mercedes-AMG W204 C63 AMG Black Series M156 - 4369. Ferrari F430 Scuderia V8 - 42710. BMW E60 M5 S85 V10 - 42611. Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS 3.8 - 41912. Ferrari F430 V8 - 39613. Audi R8 V8 - 35214. BMW E92 M3 S65 V8 - 3501. Porsche 991 GT3 Flat-6 - 119.22. Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS 4.0 Flat-6 - 114.23. Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS 3.8 - 110.24. Ferrari 458 Italia V8 - 99.55. Ferrari F430 Scuderia V8 - 99.36. Ferrari F430 V8 - 92.07. Lamborghini LP560-4 V10 - 90.18. Shelby GT350 Voodoo V8 - 89.89. BMW E92 M3 S65 V8 - 87.510. BMW E60 M5 S85 V10 - 85.211. Audi R8 V8 - 83.812. Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series M159 - 82.213. Mercedes-AMG W204 C63 AMG Black Series M156 - 70.314. Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 LS7 V8 - 63.01. Ferrari 458 Italia V8 - 88.42. Porsche 991 GT3 Flat-6 - 85.53. Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS 4.0 Flat-6 - 81.24. Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS 3.8 Flat-6 - 78.95. Shelby GT350 Voodoo V8 - 71.96. Audi R8 V8 - 71.67. Ferrari F430 Scuderia V8 - 68.88. Ferrari F430 V8 - 67.49. Lamborghini LP560-4 V10 - 66.910. Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series M159 - 64.211. BMW E60 M5 S85 V10 - 64.012. Mercedes-AMG W204 C63 AMG Black Series M156 - 64.013. BMW E92 M3 S65 V8 - 63.514. Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 LS7 V8 - 59.7Now some of you may be saying, hold on, where are the big naturally aspirated V12's from Ferrari and Lamborghini? They make more power! You are right, they do. They also come packaged in $300k plus cars. That highlights a key point here. Ford is offering by far the most naturally aspirated horsepower per dollar. It isn't even close.Also, we wanted to compare the motor to actually attainable cars and vehicles closer in displacement and cylinder count. Obviously it is not uniform and obviously cars like the SLS Black Series are many times the cost of a GT350 but that just serves to make the GT350 look even better.The Voodoo V8 is the third most powerful motor on the list. It makes more power and torque at the same compression ratio with the same revs as the vaunted BMW S85 V10. It also does it for less money at a time when emission rules are tighter.BMW has switched to turbo motors because they said they can no longer make high performance naturally aspirated high revving engines that meet emissions standards and still make money. Yet Ford is producing a naturally aspirated motor today that makes more power and torque than BMW's best for less money than BMW. Hey, you figure out if it is because BMW can't do it or the accountants who run the show prefer that they didn't.What we also learn here is that Porsche by far pushes their engines harder than anyone else. They are the top dogs when it comes to extracting horsepower per liter followed by Ferrari. That said, the 991 GT3 is the champion of hp per liter and Ferrari is almost a full 20 horsepower per liter off from them. That is a large gap and Porsche deserves tremendous respect for what they do. Yes, the list is missing the 458 Speciale which certainly would be great to see and if anyone has a Dynojet run for one that Ferrari didn't pull from the web let us know.Ford is offering the best balance of revs, horsepower, and torque for the money in this comparison. The Voodoo V8 is truly elite only giving up two wheel horsepower to the Lamborghini V10 which comes in a car over $200k while also offering more torque. Only the SLS Black Series M159 tops it significantly but it is working with another liter of displacement and costs $300k+.The Voodoo V8 truly is world class. Ford can not get enough credit for what they have built.