I’m always wondered. Since a V8 engine from 20 years ago makes rougly the same as a I4 can produce today, how come we aren’t seeing more 500+ hp sports cars?
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First of all, “sports car” is actually a fairly broad term. Muscle cars, supercars, GT cars, etc are all considered types of sports cars, along with the classic 2-door roadster.
If you’re specifically referring to the latter type, then it’s mostly due to weight. Those types of cars are usually designed around nimbleness and handling and therefore are given smaller and lighter engines. Smaller engine = harder/more expensive to make more power.
If we use the broad definition, then the answer is usually due to seeking a balance between price and useful horsepower. The current gen American big 3 coupes (Mustang, Camaro, Challenger) all have available V8s with 450+ horsepower, and they all start around $40k USD for them. It’s not really that difficult to modify these engines for more power, which is why they are all sold with more powerful variants. The problem is that when you start jacking up the power, you need to upgrade the suspension, steering, aerodynamics, etc or else all you’ve done is built a car that will spin the wheels easily and be dangerous to drive. (See all those vids of people crashing their Mustangs when leaving parking lots). All those upgrades cost more money, which is why you see the new Corvette Z06 with 670 HP and a MSRP of $100k USD.
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