THE WHOLE 10 YARDS

The days of exotic multi-cylinder engines are numbered. Porsche, Dodge and Lamborghini V10s gather to remind us what we'll be missing

- SIMON HUCKNALL

 

Judging by the phalanx of cameraphonetoting teenagers around us, I doubt that the National Trust car park at Beachy Head often hosts such an automotive spectacle. One car, the Lamborghini Gallardo, is clearly recognisable to some, but the Porsche Carrera GT and Dodge Viper draw mystified gazes, until a badge ID exposes the brand - if not the model of the Stuttgart car. The outrageous-looking American remains a curio.

Either way, they're ogling a trio with combined outputs of 1495bhp and 1261lb ft, and with nearly 19 litres of total displacement. But what truly sets this threesome apart is that those figures are generated from no fewer than 30 cylinders, divided equally between the three cars and standing as testament to a layout now in its death throes. Today, the V10 torch is carried only by the Lamborghini Huracán and Audi R8, whose glorious engines are derived from that of the Gallardo. And in the contorted web of car-brand ownership, Lamborghini was previously owned by Chrysler, whose Dodge arm gave the world its first V10 production car, the Viper RT-10, which at the moment is managing to make the two supercar heroes here look somewhat demure in comparison.