what car has a v16 engine

[Clarence]

Currently, no mass-production car for public sale has a V16 engine. These engines are extraordinarily rare, historically reserved for ultra-exclusive concept cars, custom one-offs, or massive luxury vehicles from the pre-war era. The primary reason is that a V16's immense size, weight, and complexity are impractical for modern vehicles, which prioritize efficiency, packaging, and emissions standards. The power output of modern turbocharged V8s and V12s often surpasses what a naturally aspirated V16 can achieve, making the latter more of a novelty than a performance necessity.

The most famous modern example is the Cadillac Sixteen Concept from 2003. This was a fully functional concept car featuring a 13.6-liter V16 engine that could deactivate half its cylinders to run as a V8 for better fuel economy when full power wasn't needed. It produced an estimated 1,000 horsepower and was a showcase of ultimate luxury and power, but it never reached production.

Historically, the Marmon Sixteen and Cadillac V-16 (produced from 1930-1940) were among the few production cars to ever use such an engine. These were symbols of extreme wealth and engineering ambition during the 1930s. In recent times, the only "cars" with V16s are typically custom-built hypercars like the BRM Devel Sixteen, a project aiming for a claimed 5,000 horsepower from a quad-turbo V16, but its production status remains unconfirmed and highly speculative.

Vehicle	Engine Displacement	Horsepower (Estimated)	Production Status	Era
Cadillac Sixteen Concept	13.6L	1,000 hp	Concept Car (2003)	Modern
Cadillac Series 90 V-16	7.4L	185 hp	Production (1930-1940)	Classic
Marmon Sixteen	8.0L	200 hp	Production (1931-1933)	Classic
BRM Devel Sixteen	12.3L	5,000 hp (claimed)	Prototype/Unconfirmed	Modern
Cizeta-Moroder V16T	6.0L (V16 arranged as two V8s)	560 hp	Limited Production (1990s)	Modern

The Cizeta-Moroder V16T is a unique case. Its engine was essentially two V8 engines merged together, creating a 16-cylinder layout mounted transversely. While technically a V16, its configuration is different from a traditional V16 block. Ultimately, if you're looking for a car with a V16 engine on the open market today, you will be searching for a multi-million dollar classic car or an unproven, bespoke hypercar project.

[LaAnderson]

You won't find a V16 at your local dealership. They're basically unicorns. The last true production one was the old Cadillac V16 from like, the 1930s. There was a crazy concept car, the Cadillac Sixteen, in 2003, but it was just a showpiece. Today, it's all about crazy one-off builds you read about online, like the Devel Sixteen, but who knows if those will ever be real. A V12 or a turbocharged V8 is more than enough for any road car.

[JakeLynn]

From a historical perspective, the V16 engine represents the pinnacle of pre-war automotive luxury. Brands like Cadillac and Marmon used these engines not solely for performance, but as a bold statement of engineering capability and exclusivity. They were marvels of their time, incredibly smooth and powerful. However, the post-war era, with its focus on efficiency and mass production, made such extravagant powerplants obsolete. Their legacy lives on in museum pieces and the occasional concept car that dreams of a bygone era of motoring excess.

[SanGage]

As an engineer, the V16 is fascinating but a packaging nightmare. Its length creates huge challenges for chassis design, crash safety, and weight distribution. Modern turbocharging and hybrid systems can achieve higher power and torque outputs from a much smaller, lighter V8 while meeting strict emissions laws. The V16's primary advantage is unparalleled smoothness due to its high number of firing pulses, but the complexity and cost far outweigh the benefits for any rational manufacturer. It's a brilliant engineering exercise, but not a practical one.

[DeArthur]

If you have to ask, you probably can't afford one. We're talking about cars that are either priceless artifacts from the 1930s or multi-million-dollar custom projects that might never be delivered. For a collector, owning a true V16 car like a classic Cadillac V-16 is about possessing a piece of automotive history, a symbol of ultimate prestige. For the modern equivalent, you'd be commissioning a bespoke build from a small, specialized firm, which is a massive financial and logistical undertaking far beyond buying a typical supercar.