So I just had a semi-random thought. There are engines that are great motors for a variety of reasons...for their immense performance potential, for their glorious noise, for their engineering ingenuity, or what have you. So I got to thinking...what would people consider their five favorite motors? I'm thinking in terms of overall character, performance, sound, and so on, but I guess the criteria is up to you.

Off the top of my head, five favorites in no particular order:

Ford Modular V8
Honda B18C
Porsche Flat-6 (I know there's been a million of 'em)
Audi 4.2 V8
Honda NSX V6

Maybe if we get a few common picks we can put up a favorite engines poll or something, I dunno. Discuss, debate, and pontificate!

cosworth dfv

I'm not sure the model designation for a lot of these...

Porsche flat six definitely.

Mazda Rotary (12a, 13b...). Hugely flawed to be sure, but they do offer a certain character I have not found in another engine.

BMW inline sixes (like the flat six there have been many).

S2000 Inline 4.

and this is a throw away since I was stuck, Subaru Flat four.

Clark,

isn't the NSX v6 more or less the same v6 that has been finding itself in most honda applications, but somewhat tuned?

in no particular order:
- porsche flat six
- chevy's ls engine (particularly the ls9 and ls7.r)
- mazda's r26b
- vq35de
- honda f20c

No Order:

- Volkswagen 3.2L VR6 (Golf R32)
- Nissan RB26DETT (Nissan Skyline GT-R R32/R33/R34)
- Audi/Lamborghini 5.2L V10 (Gallardo)
- Mitsubishi 4G63T (Evo I-IX)
- Mercedes-Benz AMG 7.3L V12 (Zonda)

My choices are based on part fanboy-ism, part real life exposure..

Nissan RB series (RB25, RB26, Neo, etc)
Nissan SR series (namely SR20DET)
Honda B Series (B18C, B16A, etc)
GM LS V8
Toyota 4AG

Honorable mentions:
Toyota 1JZ/2JZ
Toyota 3S-GTE
Mitsubishi 4G63
Subaru EJ Series (EJ20, EJ22, EJ25, etc)

Jeez, I guess I like Japanese engines.

In no particular order:
GM LSx
Ford Modular V8
Mitsubishi 4g63T
Subaru EJ207/WJ257
Honda B18C

A very close contender with the Honda is the Mazda's 3 rotor 20B engines.
Theres also the 1JZ/2 JZ
RB26s

SBC - A classic and has the largest production number of any engine I believe
VW/Porsche Flat 4 and 6 cyl(Porsche Only) both water(Porsche Only) and aircooled - Excellent engines
BMW N54 - Superb motor, has won awards every year since it has been introduced IIRC
The Wankel- Awesome Design
The Veyron's 16.4 The amount of engineering that went into the Veyron's powertrain is staggering, truly an epic engine

and many more. It is hard to nail down 5 excellent engines when there have been so many companies going at it for almost a century(some over a century)

Nope, the NSX uses the C-series V6. There were C-series V6s in various boring Hondas (94-97 Accord, older 3.5RLs, etc.) but they were all SOHC, the NSX is the only car to get a DOHC valvetrain. Everything else is J-series and there isn't a single performance version of the J-series V6s out there (unless you count the handful of Type-S motors, but those are still pretty mild).

Honda fanboys (remember DZ302?) love to claim that their V6 is like an NSX's...but no, there's very little commonality with the C-series motors (my mom had the 2.7 liter C27A and that was a dull, crap engine) and just none at all with the J-series motors in newer Accords, TLs/RLs, Ridgeline, Pilot, etc.

BMW 5.0L V10 FTW!!!

Ford Modular V8: Half of the cars I own have one, smooth operation, great power, and reliable
VW aircooled flat-4: An absolute engineering marvel, highly modifiable, unique sound
Powerstroke Diesel
SBC

My fifth spot is reserved until the introduction of the Ecoboost motors.

Porsche flat 6
Honda F20C
Honda K20A (a must on this list!)
Toyota 1/2JZ

I would also add bmw 3.0TT engines (in all x35 models). huge potential in this one.

YAY for the B18C!

Stick that in an Exige with a supercharger

Can we make babies?

I actually agree with 90% of those listed in this thread.

Mine:
7MGTE/1JZ/2JZ - f'n stout engines that like to be abused. Even when they go bad, can basically run like a two stroke for 80kmiles with just the turbo feeling the pain. Love teh boost.

GM LSx - I dunno how they do it. I dunno WHY they do it. But they do it, and that's what matters.

Modular V8 - Wanna turn a 2V into a 3V? A 3V into a 4V? A 2V into a 4v? What kind of 4V? B head/C head/Tumbler port/Ford GT heads? Iron or aluminum block? Teksid made? Romeo? WAP? No problem - they all fit on eachother. Only mass problem that's been shown is 96-98 plastic coolant cross over crack which are replaced by ford for free (until a couples years ago). Not huge power makers, don't love N/A tuning in the sense that most V8's do. But throw some PSI it's way and you'd think it was made for this purpose. Parts as cheap as 5.0 parts now, with the tunability of OBDII and effciency of OHC. Also there's more forced induction systems made for this platform than exhaust systems now.

Toyota 20R and variants - will last you 300k miles not problem, if something goes wrong a rebuild is $380 with machining labor. Somehow these take the abuse of a load bed all day with basically no power. Props.

Audi 4.2 FSI - Power is everywhere,c omes on smoothe and still growls at you. Grat platform, if it was more economical they should put it into everything.

Honorable:
E46's I-6 and BMW's current TT6 - they should have kept with the I6 M3 and just made a lighter platform. The TT6 is a great engine for the modern era guy who likes to tinker/pay someone to tinker on their car. Turbo's provide a grocery list of power options.

1. Toyota 1UZFE 4.0l, DOHC 32v V8- smooth, efficient, bulletproof,powerful and can be shoved into most small cars and can accept the Supra 6-speed

2. Ford modular V8- duh?
3. Honda B-series engines- Vtech has an intoxicating crossover
4. BMW 5.0l V10 from M5/M6
5. anything Ferrari

Honda F20/F22
Nissan RB26DETT
Nissan VQ series
Mitsubishi 4G63
(place holder)

My list..

Ford Modular V8
Porsche's Flat 6
Ferrari's V12
Bugatti Veyron's 16.4
The Chevy LS series

GM LSx. If you don't have this in your list, I suggest you delete your account.
Ford Modular V8. No brainer.
Mitsubishi 4G63. Bloody bulletproof.
Toyota 4AGE. Sentimental favorite. Because no one sleeps in Tokyo, and I dance around the world, that crazy Bunta and all that...
Tie between the 2JZ-GTE and the RB26DETT, no difference between the two - incredible motors. No questions asked.

RB26DETT
4A-GE
13B-REW
SR20DET
3S-GE

Porsche Flat 6
Cosworth BDA
Ford Cosworth Turbo
BMW S85
Opel C20XE