Ranked: the longest-living car engines

The advent of electrification means that the days of us being able to worship legendary engines in the future may well just not happen. The industry is yet to make legends of any of the raft of new electric motors now being installed in the wave of electric vehicles, and we can’t see that changing anytime soon. Time, then, to salute the units of the past and present that have character, class – and lived a long time. Here are the longest running of the lot:

The Opel CIH from General Motors’ (GM) European arm was a highly flexible series of engines that featured four or six cylinders, with sizes ranging from 1.5-litres up to 3.6-litres. The most well-known cars fitted with Opel’s Cam In Head engine were the Ascona, Kadett and Manta (pictured).

The CIH actually made its debut in the second-generation Rekord, and was still being used in 1995 in the Isuzu MU SUV, sold in the UK as the Vauxhall Frontera.

USED IN:

CHEVROLET 1700, DAEWOO Royale, HOLDEN: Sunbird, Torana, ISUZU MU. OPEL: Ascona, GT, Kadett (pictured), Manta, Olympia, Omega, Rekord, Ranger, Saehan Rekord, VAUXHALL: Carlton, Vauxhall Cavalier, Vauxhall Frontera.

Ford has been downsizing its petrol engines for a long time now, especially around its EcoBoost units. So it’s easy to forget that Ford’s V8 has been around for well over three decades now. Finished in cast iron but with weight-saving aluminum-alloy heads and pistons, its size ranges from 4.6-litre to 5.8-litre; there was even a V10 6.8-litre version used mainly in the Super Duty F-Series. Highly adaptable, the engine has also powered 240mph supercars, with the engine cranked out to 817 hp. Today it’s built at Ford’s plant in Windsor, Ontario.

USED IN:

FORD F-Series, E-Series, Expedition, Mustang, Crown Victoria, Thunderbird, Falcon, MERCURY Grand Marquis, Cougar, Mountaineer, Marauder, LINCOLN Mark VIII, Town Car, Navigator, Continental, Aviator, ROVER 75 V8, MARCOS Mantis, PANOZ Esperante, MG X-Power SV, ZT 260, QVALE Mangusta, KOENIGSEGG CC8, CCR (pictured), INVICTA S1.

This all-aluminum engine was based on the Buick 215 (born in 1960), used in both Buicks and Pontiacs. General Motors abandoned it for reasons of expense and unreliability, then sold it to Rover, which redesigned it and made it much more dependable.

With an excellent combination of power, torque and light weight, it featured in Rovers (like the SD1 3500, pictured), Land Rovers, MGs, Morgans and TVRs. Starting life as a 3.5-litre, it ended its days as a 4.6-litre, as fitted to the Range Rover.

EXCLUDING ITS GM DAYS, IT WAS USED IN:

GINETTA G33, LAND ROVER: Series II, 110/130, Defender, Discovery, Range Rover (pictured), LEYLAND P76, MGB GT V8, MG RV8, MORGAN Plus 8, ROVER: P5, P6, SD1, TRIUMPH TR8. TVR: 350i, Chimaera, Griffith, V8S.

American Motors Corporation first put its new inline six-cylinder engine into a special version of the 1964 Rambler called the Typhoon. In 4.0-litre form it was one of the best features of the first Jeep Cherokee (pictured), and was still being fitted to the Wrangler as late as 2006.

USED IN:

AMC: Concord, Eagle, Gremlin, Hornet, Javelin, Matador, Pacer, Rebel, Spirit. JEEP: CJ, Cherokee, Comanche, Commando, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Wrangler (pictured), Wagoneer, PARS KHODRO: Arya, Shahin, RAMBLER: Ambassador, American, Marlin, Rebel, Typhoon, RENAULT Rambler.

Citroën’s air-cooled two-cylinder, ranging in size from 375cc to 602cc, lasted the entire life of the 2CV, which might have begun nine years earlier if war hadn’t got in the way. The engine was also used in the Ami, Dyane and Mehari. A 652cc development of it later appeared in the Visa.

USED IN:

CITROËN: 2CV (pictured), Acadiane, Ami, Bijou, Dyane, Mehari.

Shortly after World War 2, Enzo Ferrari (pictured center) asked engineer Gioacchino Colombo what he would do with a 1500cc engine. Colombo replied that “Maserati has four cylinders, the British have six, Alfa Romeo has eight, so we should have 12.” Enzo entirely agreed, and Colombo’s resulting brilliant V12 was at the heart of a great many 20th-century Ferraris.

It appeared in the very first Ferrari-badged car, the 1.5-litre 125 S sports racer, and stayed around (after decades of development and an increase in size to 4.9-litres) until production of the 412 grand tourer came to an end in 1989.

USED IN:

FERRARI: 125 S, 250 (pictured), 275, 330, 365, 400, 412, Daytona, Superamerica.

The six-cylinder XK became available to the public when the XK120 (pictured) went into full-scale production in 1950, and for two decades after that it was the only engine fitted to any Jaguar. Born as a 3.4-litre, it went as small as a 2.4-litre and as large as 4.2-litres.

Its swansong was its appearance in the Daimler DS420 limousine (pictured).

USED IN:

DAIMLER: DS420, Sovereign, JAGUAR: 240, 3.4-litre, 420, S-Type (1960s), E-Type, Mark 2, Mark 7, Mark 8, XJ6, XK120, XK140, XK150, XK SS, PANTHER: De Ville, Panther J72.

Named after a factory in Normandy and the French word for cast iron, the Cléon-Fonte appeared in 1962 in the Caravelle sports car (as an 845cc), the Estafette van and the 8 sedan (pictured), the latter being the first vehicle specifically designed to use it. Its last appearance was in a Dacia, by which time it had been enlarged to as much as 1.6 litres.

USED IN:

Alpine A110, DACIA: 1100, 1300/1310, DAF: 55, 66, RENAULT: 4, 5 (sold as Le Car in USA, pictured), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, Caravelle, Estafette, Fuego, Twingo, VOLVO: 343/345, 66.

This twin overhead-camshaft engine was used for more than four decades in front-engined, rear-wheel drive Alfas, from the 1.3-litre Giulietta (pictured) to the 164 eight-valve 2.0-litre Twin Spark which went out of production in 1997. 16-valve Twin Sparks were based on a later engine designed by Fiat.

USED IN:

ALFA ROMEO: 155, 164 (pictured), 1750, 1750 Berlina, 2000, 2000 Berlina, 75, 90, Alfetta, Giulia, Giulietta, Gran Sport Quattroruote, GTA, GTV, Romeo, Spider (1966-1994).

The Kent name is used for an engine which first appeared in the British Ford Anglia (pictured - a model today most famous for its appearances in the Harry Potter movies); it was updated with a crossflow cylinder head in 1967. Later versions for front-wheel drive cars are known as Valencia. Lotus and Cosworth used the Kent as a basis for high-performance engines including the Twin Cam and the BDA.

USED IN:

CATERHAM Seven, FORD: Anglia, Capri, Consul Classic, Consul Capri, Corsair, Cortina, Escort, Fiesta, Ka (pictured), Orion, Prefect 107E, LOTUS: Elan, Seven, MARCOS GT, MORGAN 4/4, TVR: 1600M, Grantura, Vixen.

The first engine fitted to the rear of any Fiat was the 100 Series, which made its debut in 633cc form in the 600 (pictured) of 1955. Available in many sizes from then on, up to 1055cc, it just made it into the 21st century before Fiat withdrew it from the Panda range early in 2001.

USED IN:

ABARTH Spyder 210 A, AUTOBIANCHI A112, FIAT: 127, 600, 850, 900T, Cinquecento, Panda (pictured), Seicento, Uno, FIAT-ABARTH: 750, 850, 1000, OT, GIANNINI: 1000, LOMBARDI Grand Prix, NECKAR Jagst, OTAS Grand Prix 820, SEAT: 127, 133, 600, 800, 850, Ibiza Mk1, Marbella, Panda, YUGO 45, ZASTAVA: 600/750/850, Koral.

This became the first V6 to power a volume-produced American car when it was fitted to the Buick Special (pictured), as a 3.2-litre. Manufacturing rights were briefly held by Kaiser-Jeep until GM bought them back. The last car among many in the GM empire to use it was the first-generation Buick LaCrosse, which went out of production in 2009, by which time the engine was a 3.8-litre.

USED IN:

BUICK: Century, Electra, LaCrosse (pictured), LeSabre, Regal, Riviera, Skyhawk, Skylark, Special, CADILLAC: DeVille, Seville, CHEVROLET: Camaro, El Camino, Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, Monza, HOLDEN: Caprice, Commodore, JEEP: CJ, Jeepster Commando, OLDSMOBILE: 98, Achieva, Cutlass Ciera, Cutlass Supreme, Delta 88, Omega, Starfire, Toronado, PONTIAC: Bonneville, Firebird, Grand Am, Grand Prix, LeMans, Sunbird, Ventura.

From the first Austin A30 to the last classic Mini, the A-Series and the highly developed but technically similar A-Plus were used in a bewildering variety of mass-market British cars. It was also a cheap and usually reliable power source for many low-volume sports cars, kitcars and home-built specials. Originally 803cc in size offering just 28 hp, it maxed out as a 1275cc with 95 hp of output, powering the MG Metro Turbo.

USED IN:

AUSTIN: 1100/1300, A30, A35, A40, Allegro, Austin-Healey Sprite, Metro, INNOCENTI: Mini, Regent, Spyder, MG: 1100/1300, Midget, Mini: Mini (pictured), Cord, Jem, Marcos, Moke, MORRIS: 1100/1300, Minor, RILEY: Elf, Kestrel 1300, VANDEN PLAS Princess 1100/1300, WOLSELEY: 1100/1300, Hornet.

The Windsor is a medium-sized V8 fitted initially to the fourth-generation Fairlane (pictured) and later to many other Fords, as well as the Sunbeam Tiger and AC Cobra. Last placed in the Ford Explorer in 2001, it’s no longer used for any production car, but Ford will still sell you a new ‘crate’ engine to do with as you will.

The Windsor began life as a 3.6-litre, but got as large as 5.8-litres in the ‘351W’. Among many other cars, this version was fitted to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria in 1982-1991 – but only for police departments.

USED IN:

AC Cobra (pictured), CONTINENTAL: Mark 6 (pictured), Mark 7, FORD: Bronco, Country Squire, Econoline, Elite, Explorer, E-Series, F-Series, Fairlane, Fairmont, Falcon, Falcon Ranchero, Galaxie, Granada (North America), GT40, LTD, LTD Crown Victoria, Mustang, Thunderbird, Torino, LINCOLN: Continental, Mark 7, Town Car, Versailles, MERCURY: Colony Park, Cougar, Cyclone, Grand Marquis, Marquis, Meteor, Monarch, Montego, Mountaineer, Zephyr, SALEEN: S7, SHELBY GT350, SUNBEAM Tiger.

The L-Series is Britain’s longest-lived engine, and Rolls-Royce’s second V8. It made its debut in the Silver Cloud II (pictured) and Phantom V and the Bentley S2, though BMW-owned Rolls-Royce no longer has the rights to use it.

It started life as a 6.2-litre, with 188 hp, but died in the Bentley Mulsanne, which left production in 2020.

At the end fitted with twin-turbochargers, as a 6.75-litre in the Mulsanne Speed (pictured) it delivered 530bhp and a thunderous 190mph top speed. The engine had its last day of production on 1 June 2020, and was fitted to the final Mulsanne, a 6.75 Edition by Mulliner special edition, of which just 30 were produced. It marks the end of an era: 36,000 or so L-Series engines were produced, with perhaps a majority of these still in existence in some form today.

The Mulsanne will probably be replaced as the flagship of Bentley’s range with, we believe, an ultra-posh variant of the Bentayga SUV, probably powered by the W12 engine developed by parent Volkswagen.

USED IN:

BENTLEY: Arnage, Azure, Brooklands, Continental (pre-2003), Eight, Mulsanne, S2, S3, T-Series, Turbo, ROLLS-ROYCE: Camargue, Corniche, Phantom V and VI, Silver Spirit, Silver Spur, Silver Cloud II and III, Silver Shadow.

The Small Block V8 was first used as a 4.3-litre in the Chevrolet Corvette (’58 model pictured) and the much larger Bel Air sedan in 1955, and appeared in many GM cars and trucks after that. Like the Ford Windsor, it is available nowadays from GM only as a ‘crate’ engine, available to buy to keep an older car going. Total production is believed to be well over 100 million.

USED IN:

ACADIAN, BEAUMONT, BUICK Roadmaster, CADILLAC: Brougham, Escalade, Fleetwood, Fleetwood Sixty Special (pictured), CHECKER Marathon, Taxi, CHEVROLET: Bel Air, Camaro, Caprice, Chevelle, Corvette, El Camino, Express, Impala, Monte Carlo, Monza, Nova, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC: Carryall, Savana, Sierra, Suburban, Yukon, GORDON KEEBLE, HUMMER H1, ISO: Grifo, Lele, OLDSMOBILE: Custom Cruiser, Omega, Starfire, PONTIAC: Bonneville, Firebird, Grand LeMans, Grand Prix, Parisienne, Sunbird, Ventura.

The Type 1 was the air-cooled flat-four cylinder engine designed for the original Volkswagen (nicknamed the Beetle though it was never officially called that) and used for many years in other small VWs.

It first appeared in 1938 as 985cc (with output of 24 hp) and did not stop being built until Mexican production of the Beetle ended in 2003.

PICTURE: 1303 GSR engine.

By this late period (pictured) time the engine was a 1.6-litre, with fuel-injection, delivering 51 hp. Apart from its engine’s record, the car itself also holds the record for the longest ‘single-shape’ production run car so far produced.

USED IN:

VOLKSWAGEN: 1500/1600, 411/412, Karmann Ghia, Type 1 (Beetle), Type 2 (Kombi/Microbus/Transporter).