- porsche released a lighthearted video today in honor of valentine’s day, but really as a way to show the automaker’s love for the v-8 engine.
- porsche introduced a v-8 in the 928 in 1977. back then, the engine produced 240 horsepower.
- the v-8 in the 2021 panamera turbo spits out up to 620 hp.
it may be valentine’s day, but apparently porsche is not expressing its feelings for all-electric powertrains or v-6s. nope, today porsche is in love with v-8 engines. and to prove it, the company has released a short video gushing over its own special history with v-8 engines. just wait until porsche learns that the v-8 doesn’t have any monogamous feelings toward porsche.
the video explains how porsche has been using v-8 engines for 45 years, starting with the 928 in 1977. "eight cylinders, 90 degrees from one another in the form of a v," the video says. "it was love at first sight." the video then runs through a bit of porsche v-8 history, from the cayenne to the panamera to racing on the nürburgring to that time the v-8 went to college and experimented with electric power in the 918 spyder. that vehicle "made us fall in love all over again," the narrator says. "now, on to a new challenge and a new era combining ideas old and new as our hybrid v-8s take to the track."
porsche has expressed its love for the v-8 before, like five years ago for the 40th anniversary. then, the company explained how this first v-8, part of the 4.5-liter lightweight alloy engine in the 928, was not the first porsche to use eight cylinders, but it was the first to arrange the cylinders in a new shape. a heart-like v, of course. porsche said that engine had a "conspicuously low compression ratio of 8.5:1" and could use 91-octane gasoline.
porsche's original v-8 engine produced 240 horsepower at 5500 rpm, while the second version—found in the 928s in 1979—displaced 4.7 liters and produced 300 hp. things have come a little way since then. the v-8 in the 2021 panamera turbo s produces a maximum of 620 horsepower.
someday, porsche may be over the v-8. but not today.