The Most Famous Straight-8 Engines (And The Cars They Powered)

As is the case with any industry, fashions come in and go in the automotive world. Some trends become things of the past because of changing tastes, like those gold badges on the backs of Toyota models in the ’90s, for instance. Others fade out of fashion because new technological advancements render the old way of doing things obsolete, and that’s the case with the straight-eight.

As the 1950s rolled in, V8s were taking over due to their compact and lightweight construction, plus they could fit in tighter spaces and sport higher compression ratios, too. Still, that doesn’t mean the straight-eight became undesirable from a consumer point of view, just from a manufacturing perspective. The inline-eight was still a trusty, smooth, and in some cases remarkably powerful configuration.

However, with the last mass-produced inline-eight fading out of production in the mid-’50s, the configuration has very much been left in the history books. Here, we’ve decided to throw it right back into the spotlight, by featuring five of the most iconic examples ever lumbered under the hood of anything automotive, be they racers or simple commuters.

The story goes that, when E.L. Cord purchased a controlling stake in the Duesenberg motor company in 1926, he instructed the Duesenberg brothers to create the finest automobile they knew how to. As a result, the brothers developed the Duesenberg Model J, and while it was impressive in many ways, it was the straight-eight under the hood that stole column inches in the day.

From the ‘eight’ came 265 horsepower at 4,200 rpm, effectively doubling the grunt on offer from contemporary Cadillac or Packard models, and therefore more than delivering on the brief set by Cord just two years prior. It checked in at 1,150 pounds, and at the time, the Model J’s crankshaft retailed for $605 in the parts catalog — more than what a brand-new Model A would set you back. This was anything but a car for the people, and more a statement of sheer excess, with the 419.7ci straight-eight taking center stage. 

Very few revisions would be employed over the years, although an ‘SJ’ variation of the engine did arrive some years later, sporting a supercharger. This addition saw output swell from 265 to 320 horses, and this particular rendition of the Duesenberg would remain America’s most powerful road car until the 1950s. It demonstrated just how far ahead of the game the now-defunct Duesenberg automaker was in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Bugatti Type 35 is the most successful racer of all time — not the most successful of its time, but of all time, even a century after its inception. It had claimed over 2,500 victories during its illustrious career, and powering all iterations is a race-ready inline-eight. The earliest versions were just below 2 liters in capacity, but this did grow to just over 2.2 liters as the years progressed, culminating in a supercharged 2.3-liter variant with 140 horsepower on tap, dubbed the Type 35B.

Many regard the 35B as the ultimate iteration, with its Roots-type supercharger, twin-cam, two-valve per-cylinder design, and larger radiator for enhanced cooling. With so many technical innovations to boast, and so many impressive in-period achievements — such as winning the Targa Florio, and various early Grand Prix races – it’s understandable that in today’s world, collectors scramble to get hold of the iconic Type 35B. Sadly, for them, only around 45 or so were ever produced, and as such, it’s not uncommon to see these inline-eight-powered legends command considerably over $1 million when they do come up for sale.

Today’s world of motorsport is so clear-cut, with neatly defined entry criteria and ever-adapting rules and regulations, that manufacturers must develop a specific car for every individual discipline. As a result, we shall likely never see a car steal the Type 35’s ‘most successful racer’ record, and that alone is enough to earn the Bugatti’s place in any conversation that surrounds famous straight-eight engines and their successes.

The most valuable Grand Prix car of all time is quite the accolade, and it belongs to the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 196 R Stromlinienwagen, after it managed to fetch just shy of $54 million back in February 2025. The ’50s racer is a beautifully streamlined machine, and was piloted in the period by legends such as Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.

Lying beneath the Streamliner’s soft curves in a 2.5-liter straight-eight, dubbed the M196, which boasts dual ignition, dry sump lubrication, a roller-bearing crankshaft, and fuel injection — it was a real mechanical marvel of its era. Mercedes only raced the Streamliner for two seasons, but it won nine out of the 12 Grand Prix it entered, retiring only after Mercedes pulled out of motorsport entirely following that Le Mans disaster in ’55.

This wasn’t the first time the three-pointed-star automaker opted to use an inline-eight engine to great success. The W 25 Silver Arrows racers from decades prior also racked up many victories with M25 engines providing motivation, and enough grunt to crack speeds north of 175 mph in the mid-1930s. The W 196 R racers, of which just four were ever made, are really the ultimate iteration of inline-eight Mercedes racers though, coming just prior to the brand’s break from motorsport, and shift away from this specific engine configuration. Due to the performance, success, and record-breaking values these cars now command, it’s impossible to exclude them from any conversation that focuses on famous or noteworthy straight-eight engines — the M196 in particular.

Now defunct automaker Pontiac developed its first inline-eight engine in the early ’30s, in order to replace its aging six-cylinder, and in an attempt to one-up Chevrolet. It would be the cheapest inline-eight on the market, and Pontiac would make use of the configuration for just over two decades. Whereas other straight-eights featured here are famous for their performance applications, the Pontiac ‘eight’ earns its place simply by being a great and attainable mill.

Initially marketed as the “economy eight,” Pontiac was direct about its goals here — offering a large and smooth engine usually associated with luxury vehicles, but at a more modest price point. It was the mill of choice for many models, ranging from the ’30s Economy Eight Sedan, through to the more dramatically styled post-war Pontiac efforts, like the Chieftain and Streamliner. Over the years, Pontiac’s of this era adopted the attractive nickname of “Silver Streak,” which referred to the flash of chrome that ran down the center of hoods and trunks of such models in the era. It was at this time that the ‘eight’ was frequently under the hood, and so the engine can also sometimes be referred to as the Silver Streak straight-eight.

Fast-forward to 2025, and although many straight-eight equipped models from other automakers are now coveted collector’s items reserved for racetracks and concours fields, straight-eight motivated Pontiacs are still every bit as attainable as they were when new. Take a ’52 Chieftain for example, Hagerty pegs one of these in good condition at just $11,600 at the time of writing, and that’s with a late 118-horsepower iteration of the lump under the hood. If boasting ownership of a lesser-spotted inline-eight is your goal, then getting behind the wheel of a vintage Pontiac might just be the easiest way.

American automakers were stubbornly still using the straight-eight in the early 1950s, while manufacturers from elsewhere around the globe had moved on by this point. That’s not to say that the Americans were behind, rather, the silky smooth and relatively powerful configuration suited what Americans needed from their automobiles at this point in time. However, come the ’50s, and it was evident that times were changing. More compact and lighter V8 engines were taking over, while base models were still happily sported inline-six lumps. 

Some automakers persisted as far as 1954 with the inline-eight, along them was Packard, the sadly now defunct automaker that kept the inline-eight in production longer than anyone else in the U.S. Packard’s straight-eight was available in numerous different styles throughout its time in production, right the way through to ’54, when it was offered in 150, 160, 185, and 212-horsepower guises. These different variants sported different displacements too, the smallest being 288ci, and the largest sized at 359ci, and dubbed the Thunderbolt.

Much like the aforementioned Pontiac straight-eight, this Packard unit is famed for its impact on the mass-produced American market, but also for being the last of its kind. It may have looked a little prehistoric in comparison to the more powerful and lighter engines that were replacing inline-eights in the early and mid ’50s. Much in the way that old-school naturally aspirated V6s and V8s look today against hybrid and boosted powertrains. Nevertheless, Packard persisted, and no doubt there were a number of loyal customers who were happy the brand did, before they too moved with the times.