Yahoo Finance The Best Performance Cars with Naturally Aspirated Engines
In the age of the turbocharged and supercharged plug-in hybrid, it's refreshing to drive a car with an engine that's not boosted in some way or another. There are still honest-to-goodness naturally aspirated cars for sale, and good ones at that. Admittedly, there aren't many to choose from, but we've whittled down the list of performance cars available without a turbo or supercharger hanging on their engines to the ones we like best. These sports cars, presented in alphabetical order, are for lovers of 8000-rpm redlines, linear power delivery, and distinctive soundtracks.
More Fun Car Rankings: Every Car with a V-8 | Surprisingly Affordable Sports Cars | Performance Cars for Less Than $50,000 | Best Cars under $100,000
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Base Price: $43,895
Horsepower: 455 hp
The 2024 Camaro is the nameplate's swan song (for now). A sad turn of events to be sure, but it doesn't take anything away from this old-school pony car available with a 6.2-liter V-8. Far from it. Slap on the 1LE pack, and you've got yourself a relatively affordable car that's equally suited to a Sunday drive or a track day.
And yes, the V-6 Camaro still exists and has no breathing aids. There's nothing wrong with that model, but it's missing something: a Corvette engine.
Why the sixth-gen Camaro deserved better
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray / E-Ray / Z06
Base Price: $69.995
Horsepower: 490–670 hp
Speaking of Corvette engines, they're also available in Corvettes. There are three (!) powertrains to choose from currently, all aspirated naturally. There's the relative simplicity of the Stingray, the hybrid E-Ray that's quickest of the bunch, and the Z06, with its 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 screamer. You'd be screaming, too, if you were spinning at 8600 rpm. There's never been such diversity of motivation in the lineup. For those who aspire to more power, the turbocharged ZR1 is just around the corner.
The Corvette Z06 Is Astonishing
Ferrari 12Cilindri
Base Price: $417,000
Horsepower: 819 hp
Ferrari has never been much concerned with capitalization or punctuation (or even trademark law—remember the 2011 F150 F1 car?). And when it gets down to it, do you really care what this thing is called? As long as it's beautiful and has a mega V-12 under that long nose as advertised, they could call it the Ferrari NameTBD and we'd still be interested. You want performance? How about 819 cavalli stampeding to the rear wheels, good for a Ferrari-claimed 2.9-second gallop to 60 mph with no assistance, no words, and no punctuation necessary. Well, maybe an exclamation point or two.
Ferrari Gets Literal with the 12Cilindri
Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Base Price: $61,830
Horsepower: 500 hp
From the Boss 302 to the Mach 1 to the Dark Horse, Ford knows how to make its modern better-than-GT Mustangs special. And we're not talking about the stripes. Take one solid 5.0-liter V-8, add some power, mess with the chassis, and throw in a more stout six-speed for good measure. These GT+ cars are just special. Go for the mica-rich Blue Ember paint and you can live out your Mystichrome fantasies with a little more subtlety and 110 more horsepower than the SVT Cobra offered.
Why It's the Perfect American Track Car
Lamborghini Huracàn Sterrato
Base Price: $283,467
Horsepower: 602 hp
Talk about a sendoff. When no one was looking, Lambo went a little nuts on the Huracán's finale, lifting it and adding off-road tires with a bit of body cladding. There's also a roof rack. What resulted is both the wildest and perhaps the most everyday-livable of the junior Lamborghinis, its compliant suspension and extra ground clearance perfect for traversing even the gnarliest of speed bumps. And at speed. Though it wouldn't look it, this thing would be at home heading west on I-70 with a couple pairs of skis strapped to the roof just as much as it would on a track. That this do-everything Lamborghini is powered by a 5.2-liter V-10 that can launch it to 60 mph in less than 3.0 seconds—on knobby tires—is the icing on a its retirement cake.
Counterpoint: The Sterrato Deserved to Win PCOTY
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Base Price: $30,170
Horsepower: 181 hp
Pause and consider the evolution within the Miata's fourth generation. We weren't complaining when it first came out for 2016, but since then power output from the 2.0-liter inline-four has gone from 155 hp to 181 hp—a nearly 17% gain. The steering has been tweaked (twice), as has the suspension, and the latest models offer an improved limited-slip differential. It's all proof you can make a great car better, and the Mazda folks continue to do so. May they never stop.
Porsche 718 Boxster / Cayman GTS
Base Price: $96,850
Horsepower: 394–493 hp
Soon there will be no internal-combustion 718s, let alone naturally aspirated gems like these. For now, we're spoiled for choice, as you can get a detuned version of the 911 GT3's 4.0-liter flat-six engine in two flavors (with satisfyingly palindromic horsepower ratings) and with either a metal or cloth roof. Not exactly a back-to-basics quartet, given the many chassis aids (PASM, PSM, PTV) and the parts cribbed from the 911 GT cars, but these Caymans and Boxsters offer what is arguably Porsche's best stuff in its most focused models.
They're Ending Production Next Year
Porsche 911
Base Price: $184,550
Horsepower: 502–518 hp
The GT3's MA2.75 engine is, of course, right at home in the GT3 RS. For 2024, Porsche reformatted the 911 GT3 Touring into the manual-only S/T and gave it the GT3 RS's engine and a host of small but meaningful tweaks, creating the ultimate expression of the 992 generation so far—without the showy wing and quite so many vents. These GT3-based cars are truly drool-worthy, in part thanks to the sextet of individual throttle bodies feeding a cylinder each. The details matter, and Porsche knows that as well as any other automaker.
The 911 S/T Is the Greatest Road Car I've Ever Driven
Subaru BRZ / Toyota GR 86
Base Price: $30,435
Horsepower: 228 hp
The Toyobaru twins both feature a 2.4-liter boxer four with modest output. Ignoring pleas for turbos (Toyota built some!), both companies instead continue to fiddle with the cars' chassis with a steady stream of updates and special editions. For 2025, Toyota again leans on drifting lore with the Hakone Edition—the Hakone Turnpike being the setting for many a drift battle, both real and imagined. Hakone the car is a massaged GR86 that's worth it for the British Racing Green paint alone. The 2024 model year also brought the BRZ tS, which has an STI-tuned chassis featuring new Hitachi front dampers.
How do you decide between the two? Whichever dealer is closest to your house. There's no time to waste.
Here Are the Differences Between the BRZ and GR 86
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