Lamborghini’s new Temerario hybrid is more powerful, revs higher and accelerates harder than the Huracan it replaces. But it’s a bittersweet debut, because the V8-powered Temerario lacks a feature that has been present on every new Lambo baby since the Gallardo was introduced in 2003: a V10 engine.

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The end of the Huracan means you can no longer buy a new road car with a V10 engine from any automaker. For a while, though, they seemed to be everywhere, being fitted into everything from trucks and SUVs to station wagons and supercars. So to honour those for whom eight cylinders just weren’t enough, here’s a look at 10 of the best V10 engines.

Dodge/SRT Viper (1992–2017)

The original Viper R/T10 not only revived Dodge’s reputation for performance, but also launched the automotive industry’s three-decade-long fascination with V10 engines.

Chrysler was already working on an 8.0-liter V10 for its trucks during Viper development, but Viper engineers didn’t want their roadster to drive like a Ram 2500 convertible, and besides, the cast-iron monster wouldn’t be ready in time. So the Viper team worked with Lamborghini, then owned by Chrysler, to build their own version of the V10 with high-performance components and an aluminum block.

Related: The Viper V10-powered motorcycle with 500 hp is a true monster on two wheels

The 1992 Viper’s 8.0-liter V10 produced 400 hp (406 PS)—compared to 300 hp (304 PS) in the Magnum V10 that debuted in truck applications in 1994—and power had increased to 645 hp (654 PS) by the time the 8.4-liter SRT Viper was discontinued in 2017.

Dodge Ram 2500/3500 V10 (1994-2003)

The Magnum V10’s 300 hp (304 PS) and low rev limit may not have impressed Viper engineers, but its ability to generate 450 lb-ft (610 Nm) at just 2,400 rpm made it perfect for Dodge’s big Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks in the days before we realized 9 mpg was insanity.

The Magnum V10 was discontinued in 2003, when Chrysler’s new Hemi and high-torque Cummins diesel engines were already more fuel efficient. But the SRT-10 came a year later and offered truck buyers 510 hp (517 PS) of true Viper V10 power for the first time.

And Ford, which launched its own 6.8-liter V10 in 1996, continued to put monster engines in Super Duty vehicles until 2019. The guys at Blue Oval and Mopar are still arguing about which was best.

Lamborghini Gallardo/Huracan (2004-2024)

Lamborghini’s plan to outdo Ferrari’s 360 Modena was to offer more of everything: more power, more all-wheel drive, and more cylinders. So instead of simply adopting the Modena’s 395 hp (400 PS) V8, Lamborghini’s engineers built a 5.0-liter V10 based on a 4.0-liter V10 they had designed in the 1990s and then abandoned.

The Gallardo was launched in 2003, putting out an impressive 493 hp (500 PS) and outperforming its arch-rival Ferrari by 101 lb-ft (137 Nm) of torque. Hasta la vista, Enzo.

Audi R8 V10 (2009-2024)

The original Gallardo kept its V10 to itself, whatever your neighbor with an Audi S6 says. But the revised 2008 LP560 Gallardo featured a new 552 hp (560 PS) 5.2-liter V10 with direct injection and a completely different firing order and bore spacing, based on Audi’s newer V10.

Audi already had its own version of the Gallardo in the V8-powered R8, and in 2009 the R8 V8 got a V10 big brother when Audi launched a 518 hp (525 PS) version of the Lambo’s updated engine. Both brands increased power over the next 15 years, with peak power reaching 631 hp (640 PS) in the Gallardo’s successor, the Huracan.

BMW M5/M6 V10 (2005-2010)

BMW’s E60 M5 (and E63 M6 Coupe) burns a lot of gas, rod bearings, and throttle actuators, but it’s hard not to love a sensible-looking sedan that sounds like an F1 car and has been more successful than BMW’s real V10-powered F1 racer.

M5s before and after were more well-rounded – the S85 V10 offered 500 PS (507 hp) and 8,250 rpm to play with, but the sky-high torque at 6,100 rpm meant you had to work hard for your kick. None of them, however, felt quite as crazy. And we love crazy.

AudiRS6 (2008-2010)

BMW’s M5 had already had V10 power for a few years when Audi started upgrading its own V8 sedans and station wagons. First came the 2007 S6, which developed just 429 hp (435 PS) from its 5.2-liter V10 and looked so boring you’d have guessed it only managed half that. Then the larger S8 got a dose of the same medicine, but with a power boost to a still boring 444 hp (450 PS). Surely Audi could do better than that, right?

It could. Much more fun than the S duo – except in the US, where it wasn’t available – was the 2008 RS6, especially in optional wagon form. Despite sacrificing 200cc of displacement to the S models, the RS’s revised V10 developed a herculean 572 hp (580 PS) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm), so outshining its M5 rival that it felt like there was a blackout in Munich.

VW Touareg V10 TDI (2002-10)

We’ll recall that VW was a lot more fun before the Dieselgate scandal: The original Touareg SUV and Phaeton luxury sedan from the mid-2000s had not one but two insanely over-the-top engine options. One was a 444 hp (450 PS) 6.0-liter W12, a naturally aspirated version of the Bentley Continental’s twin-turbo engine, and the other was a 4.9-liter turbodiesel V10.

The V10 only produced 309 hp (313 PS) or 345 hp (350 PS) in the Touareg R50, but the whopping 850 Nm at just 2,000 rpm were handy for towing things like boats and Boeing 747s, which VW used as a PR stunt in 2006.

Porsche 911 (2004-06)

The Carrera GT is a strong contender for the title of best-sounding road car of all time, and that’s perhaps no surprise when you learn that its 5.0-litre V10 has its roots in a stillborn F1 engine. Porsche had developed the engine for the Footwork F1 team in the early 1990s and later reworked it for its own Le Mans car, which was also never built.

With an output of 603 hp (612 PS), the Carrera GT’s V10 was less powerful than the 651 hp (660 PS) 6.0-liter V12 in its rival Ferrari Enzo, although only the Porsche was equipped with a manual transmission.

Lexus LS (2010-12)

You know you’re in for a sonic experience when a car manufacturer tells you it teamed up with Yamaha’s music department to tweak the exhaust on its new 4.8-liter V10 engine, or when it claims it had to install a digital instrument package because the engine revs so high that an analog instrument couldn’t keep up.

The all-carbon LFA produced 552 hp (560 PS), or 10 hp (10 PS) more in Nürburgring trim, and the V10 was shoved so close to the firewall that the ride balance would have you swearing it was mounted behind the seats rather than in front of them. We’ve waited 10 years for a successor, and this fall we may finally get one.

Bonus: Honda/Acura NSX (2007)

Ah, what could have been. While Lexus was working on the LFA in the late 2000s, Honda was busy developing something similar, another front-mid-engined V10 coupe. It even got to the point where prototypes were tested on the Nürburgring and we even got a taste of what it would look like with the 2007 Acura ASCC concept.

Unfortunately, tough economic conditions forced Honda to abandon its NSX successor and its F1 program the following year. Some of the technology and learnings from the project went into the HSV-010 GT that Honda raced in the Japanese Super GT series, but we had to wait until 2016 to get our hands on a new NSX, and when it finally arrived, there was no sign of the V10.