Having eight cylinders placed in a vee formation is usually something that is thought of as being an American tradition, but the Europeans do it well too, and have been doing so for decades. They do it differently, but the results are always worth mentioning.

Now, I’m m not sure if there’s an actual debate going on as to which Euorpean V8 sounds the best, and there are really a lot to choose from. However, most have now migrated into the realm of turbocharging, and while that has all sorts of benefits for everything but throttle response, it also has a habit of killing any kind of rasp in the exhaust.

Thankfully, Audi still makes a naturally-aspirated V8, and it’s one that revs through the roof accompanied by an intoxicating soundtrack.

In the video below, YouTube uploader Marchettino is driven around through a bunch of tunnels in an Audi RS4 with free-flowing straight pipes. The result I think speaks for itself and can be heard in the video posted below.

So, do you think Europe currently makes any better sounding V8s than this? Maserati still uses the 4.7-liter unit, but it will be replaced by turbocharged units relatively quickly, and it’s to my knowledge the only one that can match the Audi’s bark. Any others?

By Andrei Nedelea

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