What Was The First Car With A V8 Engine?

The combustion engine is undoubtedly one of the most influential inventions of not just the past few centuries, but the entire history of humanity. It has played a vital role in revolutionizing transportation, taking us from a world of horses and carriages to one of cars, buses, and more. Engine technology has evolved over time as well, with various types taking their place in the marketplace. The V8 engine is among these staples, with a handful of such engines standing out as the most powerful ever made. Of course, they and all others wouldn't have become so known without the first, and the car it was used in.

The story of the first car to run on a V8 engine goes back to 1905. In Great Britain, engineers working under the Rolls-Royce banner decided to try out the V8 on only a small handful of cars. Three were constructed including these early V8, 3535cc engines, but they didn't get far. In the end, Rolls-Royce's V8 experiment ended quicker than it began. One unit sold, the company purchased it back, and put its V8 aspirations on hold almost until the 1960s. All these decades later, Rolls-Royce has continued to work with V8 engines, even putting them into some of the best Rolls-Royce models ever designed.

At the start of the 20th century, Rolls-Royce wasn't the only car brand looking into the potential of the V8. Others found some measure of success utilizing it, so much so that they became the first to mass produce such cars and bring them to market.

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When Rolls-Royce first tested its V8 cars, the engine type had been around for a few years. Back in 1902, engineering pioneer Léon Levavasseur patented the first-ever V8 engine, dubbed the Antoinette, changing transportation forever. Thus, it's no surprise that others wanted to see what it could do in their automotive models simultaneously as Rolls-Royce. Only a mere few years after Rolls-Royce attempted and gave up on putting the V8 into cars, the France-based De Dion-Bouton tinkered with the engine type in 1910 to great effect. As a result, it became the first brand to mass-produce cars with the V8 engine.

Not long after De Dion-Bouton made history with its V8 cars, the United States saw its first automaker implement it on a wide scale. It was fitted inside the 1915 Cadillac Type 51. At 5.1 liters, the engine generated 70 horsepower, which was nothing to scoff at for the time. The Type 51 had an MSRP of around $1,975, and while that's no small amount of money for the early 20th century, folks were incredibly interested in taking V8 engines for a spin. Between the Type 51 and other vehicles equipped with the engine type, Cadillac sold over 13,000 cars in its first year.

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These days, the vast majority of people think of V8 engines as being an automobile-specific technology. Manufacturers everywhere have put their own spin on the format, making it more streamlined, fuel-efficient, and powerful, among other innovations. Brands like Ford have even made some impressively big V8 engines throughout the years, packing in power and physical presence on trucks and muscle cars alike. However, in truth, the V8 wasn't initially made solely for cars. Rather, they were designed to power other forms of transportation, like airplanes and motorcycles.

One of the first planes to successfully implement the V8 engine was the Red Wing, also known as the Aerodrome #1. The aircraft was designed and constructed back in 1908 by Glenn Curtiss, who designed his own engine to power it. The engine weighed approximately 175 lbs and packed 140 horsepower, featuring an air-cooling system to prevent overheating. A year prior, Curtiss put his developing V8 technology to use on land, to great effect no less. In 1907, the Curtiss V8 motorcycle set a land speed record at 136 mph — a landmark that stood until 1930. Sadly, the return run proved disastrous, as the U-joint connecting the driveshaft and wheel broke and caused the bike to crumble.

Evidently, the V8 was a major technological leap forward. It might have taken time, even being implemented in other machines first, but it's undoubtedly a core element of car culture in the modern era and likely will be for decades yet to come.

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