With electrification now playing an increasingly more important role in the automotive industry, the large naturally aspirated engines are becoming a rarity. Only a few manufacturers still offer V8 mills with no forced induction with Ford and Lexus being two very good examples. Which company has the more powerful and quicker V8-powered vehicle currently on sale? Let’s find out.
The answer to the first question is relatively easy. The output figures for the 2022 Lexus IS 500 used in this video show a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated engine that produces 472 horsepower (347 kilowatts) and 395 pound-feet (536 Newton-meters) of torque. An eight-speed automatic gearbox sends the power to the rear wheels. The vehicle has a curb weight of 3,980 pounds (1,805 kilograms).
Against it, the 2022 Ford Mustang GT puts to use a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 with 450 hp (331 kW) and 410 lb-ft (556 Nm) of torque. A six-speed manual gearbox is responsible for channeling the power to the rear wheels. The curb weight of the Mustang GT is 3,932 lbs (1,783 kg).
As you can see, the Lexus has a small advantage over the Ford in terms of its maximum power. It is also marginally heavier, but this probably won’t affect the direct drag race the two cars are having in the video at the top of this page. However, the lack of an automatic gearbox in the Mustang will probably make a difference.
Gallery: 2022 Ford Mustang Stealth Edition
This is obviously a very close battle – you can tell that by the numbers. We won’t spoil the results but we will just tell you that a Mustang GT with the 10-speed automatic will probably be a better match for the IS 500 in this specification. Also, the driver of the Mustang didn't really nail the gear changes, especially in some of the rolling races.
Still, the two cars are impressively fast in both the standing-start and rolling-start races. It will be very interesting to see a rematch with automatic Mustang GT and quicker gear changes. Enjoy the naturally aspirated V8s as soon they will probably be gone forever.
