Easily the most popular and important engine design in automotive history, the V8 has powered all manner of sedans, sports cars, coupes, and trucks, so it is really tricky to choose the coolest V8-powered used cars under $15k.
The V8 is most famous for finding its way under the hood of American Muscle cars, for many gearheads, the two are inseparable, one cannot exist without the other. Scouring the bargain ads, you won't find a bigger V8-powered bang for your buck, economies of scale means US-built cars are ridiculously cheap, mostly thanks to being mass-produced and readily available across all 50 states. However, despite its reputation, the V8 is not unique to US carmakers, take your pick of any European brand and the chances are you'll find a V8 somewhere in their model line-up.
10Jaguar XKR Convertible
$15,000 goes a long way in Jaguar speak, the XKR Convertible is cool and desirable to gearheads as it is suffers from huge depreciation, making the big cat a serious temptation. While it lacks the outright sports car pedigree Jaguar fanatics crave, it's no slouch, thanks to a revised and enlarged 4.2-liter V8 producing 370 hp.
Jaguar's grace, space, and pace motto might be stretching things a little far, as the XKR's 2+2 seater arrangement is best ignored and the car is best enjoyed as a luxury performance 2-seater instead.
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9Chevrolet Camaro SS
While this black Camaro looks mean and sinister, we have to say any color works for the Camaro with its modern take on the original, complete with menacing front end and rising swage lines and haunches. From new, SS spec cars were incredibly cheap, and as a used car, the Camaro is hard to beat.
Under the hood, none of that eco-friendly nonsense, Chevrolet saw it fit to shoe-horn in a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 turning out 426 hp and enough torque to spin the planet. Subtle, it isn't! It also boasts enough get-up-and-go to worry mid-range supercars, with a sub 5-second sprint to sixty.
8Westfield SEight
Produced over a twenty-year period, Westfield's SEight is a trickier proposition, but with some patience, finding one of the Lotus Seven lookalikes under budget is one of the biggest thrill rides gearheads are going to find, short of strapping a rocket motor to the back of a go-kart.
On first appearances, it's just another retro-roadster in a similar vain to the dozen of Caterhams you'd expect at a track day. However, the SEight doesn't pull any punches, thanks to a Rover V8 under the hood. The installation itself is a real achievement, given the Westfield body is barely wider than the block. How much power? Depending on model spec, engines varying from 3.5 to 5.3 liters with as much as 400 hp.
7Mercedes SLK 55 AMG
Mercedes-AMGs take on the small car big engine format, shoehorning a naturally aspirated V8 into the SLKs tiny body gave rise to one of the coolest three-pointed star-adorned sports cars we've ever seen. Naturally, AMG's engine gurus worked their magic, coaxing 355 hp and 376 ft-lbs of twist from the 5.4-liter.
Oddly, the SLK 55 AMG is the sweet spot in terms of performance, the Black Edition might boast more power, but it's this one that is quicker in a drag race, beating its more prestigious and more expensive sibling to sixty by two tenths of a second.
6Pontiac GTO
Badge snobbery robbed gearheads of one of the coolest American muscle cars of recent times. Who cares if behind the grille, the GTO owed all of its very existence to Holden's Monaro? The GTO was the last proper sports coupe Pontiac produced.
However, as a V8-powered bargain, the same misguided level of under-appreciation makes bagging a low mileage GTO an easy prospect. Even the later 6-liter LS2 powered cars with 400 hp come in under budget and promise near 180 mph performance.
RELATED: 5 Best And 5 Worst Pontiac GTOs Ever Made
5Chevrolet Corvette
Rarely does base model and V8 engines come in the same sentence, let alone a two-seater sports car packing 400 hp that can drag itself to a top speed of 186 mph. However, picking up a Corvette C6, or pretty much any Vette under $15k, is like shooting fish in a barrel, there are hundreds, if not thousands, to chose from.
Being brutally honest, its fiberglass body isn't the most rigid, in some areas sporting panel gaps bordering on the embarrassing. Take one for a spin, and you'll see why C6 is cool. Up front, Chevrolet's 6-liter LS2 pulls like a steam locomotive, the headlong charge towards the horizon only briefly pausing between gear ratios.
4Porsche Cayenne GTS
Squint a bit and Porsche's Cayenne looks every so slightly like the 911 on steroids, at least from the front, the rest is pure SUV. At its launch, it was highly controversial, in reality, Porsche had inadvertently created a separate niche for performance SUVs. Admittedly, that gaping mouth-like grille isn't the prettiest, but we'll excuse the Cayenne's appearance based on what it can do.
In GTS specification, gearheads get a family-sized five-seater sporting a naturally aspirated 4.5-liter V8 chucking out 399 hp, sports suspension, bespoke 22-inch alloys, and a custom bodykit unique to the GTS. Flat out, you're looking at a limited top speed of 150 mph, sixty taking 5.7-seconds. If that's not cool, dig around long enough and the Turbo S is even quicker.
3Ford Mustang GT
The niche defining Ford Mustang takes the credit for being the first "pony car", delivering affordable performance to the masses. Initially, it was available with a choice of straight-six and V8 engines, both with their pros and cons. However, ask a gearhead what motor a Mustang should have, and the answer is always a V8.
Coming full circle, Mustang owners are still faced with a choice of engines, V8s sitting at the top of the range, with smaller V6s and turbocharged fours following behind. The latest Mustang hasn't dropped as low as $15k yet, but there are plenty of previous generations models to chose from. Obviously, we'd go for the 5-liter 412 hp V8 for both noise and performance.
2BMW M3 Sedan
Ideally we'd want the prettier M3 Coupe, but pricing excludes the two-door super coupe leaving the more practical sedan as the best compromise. Not that a four-seater V8-power sedan capable of sixty in 4.6-seconds is anything to be sniffed at.
Produced between 2007/13 the E90 series is the only M3 to offer naturally aspirated V8 engines, with a displacement of 4 liters punching out 414 hp with no induction or exhaust tricks to muffle arguably the best-sounding engine in its class. If it's noise you're seeking, the E90 is the one to get, every M3 since using turbocharged sixes.
RELATED: The German Sedans Make Most Sports Cars Look Slow
1Audi S5 4.2
The M3 above has always been a sublime performance car, but it's a little ostentatious, almost demanding gearheads to stare at its tire-smoking performance. On the other hand, Audi does the whole performance coupe with less drama, making the S5 the more mature choice.
Don't let the business executive styling fool you, beneath the hood, Audi's 4.2-liter V8 is every bit as potent, boasting 354 hp and connected to a paddle-operated 6-speed tiptronic transmission on the rear axle. Unusually, Audi only offered one trim level, and that means every S5 was scorching to sixty in 4.9-seconds, and flat-out limited to 155 mph.
Here Are 10 Of The Coolest 4-Cylinder Sports Cars Ever Made Read NextShareTweetShareEmail Related TopicsAbout The AuthorJason Garbutt(490 Articles Published)
Raised in a car-obsessed environment from an early age ensured a keen interest in anything car-related. first and foremost an F1 fan, but also an avid follower of other motorsports. Professional background working closely with a well established UK based Supercar manufacturer in recent years.
