What’s The Best 4-Cylinder Sports Car Ever?

High-performance cars don’t always need to shout their credentials through a V8 growl or guzzle fuel like it’s 1992. Sometimes, less really is more, especially when it’s packed into a well-balanced, four-cylinder package that knows how to make the most of every rev.

The Mercedes-AMG C63 has had a tough time since the third generation car was introduced in 2022. Despite its 671 hp (680 PS) engine generating 168 hp (170 PS) more than the engine it replaced, fans were disappointed that AMG junked a characterful V8 for an efficient, but heavy and relatively soulless four-cylinder PHEV powertrain. It’s almost as if some people think high performance cars deserve more than four cylinders.

Related: And The Best Sounding Four-Cylinder Engine Ever Is?

But there have been dozens of fantastic four-cylinder enthusiast cars over the years. The Mazda MX-5 is probably the one that springs most obviously to mind. The original NA’s BZ6E DOHC 1.6 made just 114 hp (116 PS), but it did so reliably, liked to rev and was hooked up to a snappy five-speed manual transmission. It wasn’t fast, but even so it was just about perfect.

A decade later, Honda’s screaming S2000 took that same concept and ramped up the excitement with 237 hp (241 PS) of VTEC power, though both the Mazda and Honda owe a debt of gratitude to the twin-cam Lotus Elan of the 1960s. And 25 and a bit years after the Elan debuted, Lotus showed with the turbocharged Esprit – and its then-incredible 4.7-second zero to 0 mph (96 km/h) capability – that four cylinders could beat out six, and even eight.

Porsche also had a long-on-off relationship with four-cylinder engines. The 356, 912, 914 and current Boxster and Cayman all have boxer fours, and the 924, 944, 968 and today’s Macan T used the inline variety. Those inline fours weren’t, and still aren’t, the most charismatic engines around, but with the exception of America’s emissions-strangled naturally-aspirated 924, they at least delivered enough performance to give the great chassis they were mated with a workout.

No mention of four-cylinder performance heroes would be complete without a nod to the BMW E30 M3 (and it’s Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 rival), rally weapons like the Lancia Delta Integrale, Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo or hot hatches such as the original Golf GTi and current Honda Civic Type R.

But there are also countless other great four-cylinder enthusiast cars, from the Blower Bentley to the Toyota MR2, Lancia Fulvia V4, Ford RS2000 and even the humble Nissan Sentra SE-R and its Datsun S10 ancestor. Our question to you is who did it best?

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