When we talk about powerful and performance-oriented car engines, we often tend to leave four-cylinder engines out of the equation. Only engines that have six or more cylinders ever come to our minds and mostly just bother ourselves with V8s and mighty V12s.
This Jaguar F-Type V8 is supercharged and is potent, but still wouldn’t make our list.
However, there are some select internal-combustion four-cylinder engines out there, that will almost put a normal V6 or sometimes even a V8 to shame. This has led us to talk a little about engines that have the highest specific output for their respective displacement and is usually measured in horsepower/litre (HP/L) of engine capacity. To be more specific, we will take a look at four-pots with the highest specific power output and a displacement of 2-litres or less. The following are the top six most impressive Fours on the planet.
6. 2015 Audi TTS:
The first engine on this list is to be found in the all-new Audi TTS and displaces a mere 1948cc. This 2.0 TFSI motor is strapped with a turbocharger and uses direct fuel-injection technology. The result is 265 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 350 Nm of torque at just 2500 rpm. This gives the 2015 Audi TTS a specific output figure of 136 hp per litre. Combine this to the TTS’s lightweight body that’s mostly built out of aluminium, a slick 6-speed dual-clutch S Tronic gearbox and Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system, you get a o-100 km/h time of 5 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h (electronically limited).
2015 Audi TTS’s specific engine output – 136 hp per litre.
And FYI, the India-bound standard TT makes 115 hp per litre from its less hardcore TTS sibling and produces a total of 230 horses. Top speed remains the same, but its slower to 100 km/h by 0.3 seconds (5.3 seconds).
- Engine displacement – 1948 cc
- Specific output – 136 hp/litre
5. Alfa Romeo 4C:
The Alfa Romeo 4C came out in 2013 and is the lightest car on our list. That’s because the 4C uses carbon-fibre for most of its construction, with some aluminium dropped in as an extra measure. The result of its petit dimensions and lightweight construction means that the 4C has kerb weight of less than 1000kg. Also, with a 1.75-litre turbocharged engine, the Alfa Romeo 4C has the smallest engine amongst all the other cars on this list.
The Alfa Romeo 4C comes with a tiny 1.75-litre 4-cylinder engine. But don’t discount it, yet.
The Alfa Romeo 4C might have the smallest displacement engine out of the 5 cars here, but it packs a mighty enough Italian punch. The 4C’s 1750cc four-cylinder engine is both turbocharged and features direct fuel-injection. The result is 240hp at 6000 rpm and a peak torque of 350 Nm, 80% of which is available at just 1700 rpm. This engine has a specific output figure of 137.1 hp per litre, so this is one quick fella. The dash from nought to 100 km/h comes up in just 4.5 seconds and the 4C can hit a top whack of 258 km/h.
Most of this Alfa is comprised of carbon-fibre and lightweight aluminium.
The 240 Italian horses are sent to the rear wheels via means of Alfa’s TCT dual-clutch 6-speed transmission. One other cool fact about this car, its carbon-fibre tub weighs just 65kg – much lighter than an average adult man.
- Engine displacement – 1750 cc
- Specific output – 137.1 hp/litre
4. 2015 Audi S3 saloon:
The third car on our list is another Audi – the S3 saloon. The S3 is powered by a 16-valve DOHC engine that displaces 1984cc and uses variable valve timing. This engine is helped along by a turbocharger and the ubiquitous direct injection technology. The net result is 292 hp between 5400-6200 rpm and 380 torques that’s available between 1900-5300 rpm, this means a linear power delivery because of the wide spread of horsepower and torque.
This TFSI unit displaces just under 2.0-litres, but still makes 292 horsepower.
The specific output of this engine is an impressive 147.1 hp per litre. Even though the S3 weighs almost 1.6 tonnes, its tractable torque spread, responsive 6-speed S Tronic dual-clutch gearbox and the quattro AWD all come together to make this one brisk car. The S3 only needs 4.8 seconds to hit the tonne mark and the top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h. The Audi A3 available in India comes with a 2.0-litre TFSI unit which produces a maximum of 178 hp and that equates to a specific output figure of under 100 hp per litre.
- Engine displacement – 1984 cc
- Specific output – 147.1 hp/litre
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