The 20 most powerful naturally aspirated supercars

Proof of how wild and fantastical the power outputs of naturally aspirated cars have got in recent years comes in the form of the LFA, which is the first in a 20-strong list.

While its 552bhp may put it on par with Ferrari’s softest car – the turbocharged California T – the LFA’s engine is one of the greatest in history.

Peak power arrives at 8,700rpm, by which point the inertia-free 4.8-litre V10 will be shrieking away with a noise the LFA’s chief engineer described as “the roar of an angel.”

The LFA may be an all-time great, dripping with glamour, but it’s pipped by a Gallardo.

It’s a Lamborghini of course, so there’s no great shame in that. The Gallardo may have been Lambo at its most accessible, but by the end of its ten-year life, it was pumping out proper power.

The Superleggera, Super Trofeo and Performante special editions all had 562bhp versions of the Gallardo’s V10, which produced a barely less potent 552bhp as standard. Top speed just edged over the magic double-tonne, at 202mph.

In a sea of Ferraris, Astons and Lambos, we’d forgive you for not quite remembering the T1.

Looking like a Formula 1 car for the road, its weeny 3.5-litre V8 engine turned out an unlikely 575bhp. And with fewer than 700 kilos to shift, it endowed the more than mildly frightening T1 with a 205mph top speed and a circa-3.0sec 0-60mph time.

We’d advise holding on tight.

Another British made car, only one with, y’know, a roof and doors and stuff.

The Vantage GT12 – the most powerful of a handful of different V12 Vantage models, all of them naturally aspirated – is barely any less wild, though.

Just look at its wing. And its utter disdain for rear grip. You need £250,000 to bag one, but that actually makes it cheaper than Caparos were new…

The regular 458 Italia – with its 562bhp peak – would be strong enough to make this list.

But then, in its twilight years, Ferrari turfed out all the luxury items, stiffened the suspension, and ignited its 4.5-litre N/A V8 just a little bit more. The Speciale’s near-600bhp peak arrives at an almost deafening 9,000rpm.

What resulted was one of the greatest modern supercars, one of the best Ferraris ever, and, alongside the new F12 tdf, a go-to example as to why nat-asp engines will always excite more than turbos.

While Ferrari replaced the 458 with the twin-turbocharged 488, Lamborghini has managed to buck the trend and keep its smallest supercar traditionally powered.

A 5.2-litre V10 remains the engine of choice, this time nudging over the 600bhp mark. There’s no longer a manual version, though, a twin-clutch paddleshift gearbox developed with Audi taking its place.

And there's significance in that: the setup appears in the uppermost version of the second-generation R8, too.

File this alongside the LFA and Speciale as one of the all-time greats. The CGT uses a 5.7-litre V10 engine which only just loses out to the 911 GT2 RS – Porsche’s most potent turbo car – by 7bhp.

It’s arguably as senior, too, with a reputation for spikiness that means only the confident and adept should consider grappling with it.

But with a majestic V10 operating through a lovely old-school manual ‘box – complete with wooden gearknob – there are few experiences like it. Not least because its roof panel flips out to pour the noise directly into your ears.

The Enzo’s more racecar cousin, the MC12 used essentially the same 6.0-litre V12 powertrain, just detuned a smidge.

You’d hardly call 621bhp measly, though, and it’s enough to propel the bewinged Maser to 205mph via a 3.8sec 0-60mph time.

Want one? You’ll need at least a million quid...

Merc’s wonderful old 6.2-litre V8 used to power just about every AMG going, but time – and the inevitable switch to turbocharging – got the better of it.

The current AMG GT uses a 4.0-litre forced induction engine, but its predecessor bowed out in mesmerising fashion, via the vehemently naturally aspirated SLS Black Series.

With 622bhp, it was a full 60bhp up on standard, and it looked for all the world like an SLS GT3 racer with the stickers removed. And yes, it did like to go sideways…

McLaren’s road car range now entirely revolves around twin-turbo engines, namely various tunes of a 3.8-litre V8 that kick off at 540bhp.

McLaren’s first road car, though, the utterly iconic F1, used no such measures to create its power, instead using a BMW-sourced V12. 6.1 litres in size and naturally aspirated, its 627bhp helped the welterweight F1 achieve its 241mph production car speed record that stood until the Bugatti Veyron’s arrival.

It came in a few iterations, the ‘longtail’ GT above perhaps the prettiest, and the inspiration for the excellent McLaren 675LT. Good as it may be, though, its twin-turbo engine will never sing with the voice of its ancestor…

Another racecar for the road, and the only American on our list. Surprised? Most of the really powerful cars from over the pond use supercharging…

The Viper, though, subscribes to the old ‘no replacement for displacement’ adage, its engine a mighty 8.4-litre V10, which in the ACR, pumps out 645bhp and 600lb ft of torque.

It could well produce the fiercest driving experience of our list, too, given it still operates through a six-speed manual gearbox and its grip comes from downforce and special tyres rather than some flattering electronics.

The Enzo, meanwhile, heralded the arrival of helpful electronics, coming with a heap of Formula 1-inspired electrickery.

Its 651bhp was enough to enable a 217mph top speed and 3.5sec 0-60mph time, while its upward-opening doors and see-through engine cover ensured it delivered all the exotica needed for a Ferrari hypercar.

And one which followed in the footsteps of the F40 and F50, at that…

Want a sign of progress? The Enzo’s power delivery was matched less than a decade later by a four-seat, four-wheel-drive hatchback.

This is an AWD hot hatch Ferrari style, though: the FF is still built for performance, so still calls upon a V12 engine with climactic power delivery.

“Flip the seats down and you get 800 litres of bootspace,” we said. “Not quite a Transit, but enough to cope happily with real life. All this in a car that’ll hit 62mph in 3.7 seconds and do 208mph.”

There’s surely no better cross-continent transport between ski resorts.

The most powerful of all the Murcielagos appeared in 2009, extracting a mighty 661bhp from the Murcie’s 6.5-litre V12. Meanwhile, 100kg was stripped from the standard kerb weight thanks, chiefly, to much carbonfibre use.

The paddleshift gearbox may have been a little bit clunky, with a wing like that, trademark orange paint and 0-60mph in around three seconds, you’d be hard pressed to care.

The Murcielago’s power output was matched by a similarly brutal rival from across the hills at Ferrari.

Lowlier versions had 611bhp, but the GTO’s extra clout helped it shave nearly a second from the Enzo’s lap time at Ferrari’s own Fiorano test track.

Given just two Ferrari GTOs had gone before it - the exceedingly special 288 and the incomparably majestic 250 - some feared the 599 could never live up to such billing.

It really did.

We could list all manner of Zondas here, so endless do all of its versions and special editions feel, each and every one of them naturally aspirated.

Most of them produce north of 600bhp, while Lewis Hamilton has his own, manual-gearbox one-off with 750bhp, but perhaps the most demonic road-going Zonda of all is this, the LM.

It’s never been put on the dyno to read its official power output, but its safely over the 700bhp mark.

“What we have here is maximum Zonda,” said TG’s Jason Barlow, “a road-going echo of the Zonda R track machine, a step beyond even the Cinque… £3.5m of 700bhp-plus carbon-bodied exotica.”

Factory and owner aside, he’s the only person to have driven it. Lucky blighter.

Once again, Lamborghini stuck to its guns and kept the Murcielago’s replacement naturally aspirated.

This didn’t stop the regular Aventador making nearly 700bhp, while its more deranged SV iteration churns out an utterly frightening 740bhp.

“There is nothing like the throttle response of an engine that relies on nothing more than atmospheric pressure to make fuel and air go bang,” said TG’s Tom Ford of the SV. “There’s no boost moment. There’s also no cam change or step in the shove, just a constant, big-engined accelerative weight right up to a howling 8,400rpm.”

Until recently the world’s most potent N/A car, with a 750bhp screaming out of its Cosworth-tuned 7.3-litre V12 engine.

It's mated to perhaps the most beautiful shape to yet wear the Aston badge, the One-77 almost impossibly curvy and exotic.

Just 77 were made, each bespoke to their owner and costing in excess of £1million. Yet given they now trade for twice that, you could almost consider that initial price tag a bargain.

We drove the grammatically obtuse F12tdf, and found it a little, um, scary. But as a possible swansong for the naturally aspirated Ferrari, it’s just about spot on.

“It takes Herculean self-discipline not to travel at warp factor 10 everywhere,” said Jason Barlow, “so addictive is the performance rush and so huge-sounding is the V12.”

It may not have made the final slide of this gallery, but with 770bhp extracted from its 6.2 litres without a turbo in sight, this is as potent as naturally aspirated road cars get.

…and that’s because we’ve let its bigger, electrically boosted brother sneak in. The LaFerrari produces 950bhp with its combination of petrol and electric power. But without the motor, there’s still a 789bhp, 6.3-litre nat-asp V12 to ensure the LaFerrari will never, ever feel tardy.

The sticking point is the V12 always has its electric ally; this is a hybrid built for performance, not parsimony, so the motor works seamlessly to boost your lunge to the horizon. There is no electric-only mode that will ever deplete the battery.

We’ll allow the LaFerrari its moment of glory, though, for creating a high-tech package with its heart proudly in the old school. A flattering e-motor means it doesn’t need the most powerful N/A road engine on sale, but that’s still what Ferrari's given it…