If speed and performance are your only goals, these engines should be atop of your wish list. The most powerful, durable, and tunable, here are 10 of the best performance engines ever.

Naturally, the big names in supercars will always be close to the number one slot. Yet, that is no guarantee of greatness. Any gearhead with deep enough pockets is going to find an exotic hard to resist. But lower down the list of best of the best comes some surprising names. Mercedes, for example, offers an incredible 400 horsepower from a tiny 2-liter four-cylinder. A figure not too far off Ferrari’s F40.

As carmakers trade cubic inches for forced induction, engines are shrinking in size with power gains. Yet, there is still room for bigger multi-cylinder engines. Classic V8s with their blowers are still hugely sought after. If you are a fan of V12s, Lamborghini, despite several claims of the last V12 engine ever, still has you covered.

Whatever you desire in an engine, these are 10 of the best performance engines ever to grace our roads.

10 Ford Cosworth DFV

Kicking off the list of best performance engines, Ford teamed up with Cosworth for the DFV. You won’t find this one under the hood of any road car. Instead, the DFV program came about as the result of Colin Chapman’s request for a compact F1 engine. The rest, as they say, is history.

Incredibly, the DFV dates back to 1967, developed from Ford’s earlier Four-Valve A Type (FVA) four…