There are engine sounds, and then there are engines that sound like they are being contained. They can be sharp and clinical, smooth and operatic, or brutally mechanical in a way that feels closer to machinery in motion than anything designed for the road. The best ones don’t sit in the background of a car—they dominate it, shaping the entire identity of the machine they belong to.
For long, enthusiasts have claimed that the Lexus LFA is the best sounding car of all time. But then, enthusiasts tend to talk about sound in extremes. The perfect tone. The ideal pitch. The way a rev range climbs like a musical scale or hits like a strike of metal on metal. But, if we really want to give the title of best sounding car of all time to someone, this forgotten Honda sports car is right up there.
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It Was Supposed To Be The NSX Successor
The car in question is the Honda HSV-010 GT, Honda’s GT500-class race car developed for Japan’s Super GT series in the early 2010s.
Under its long, low hood sits a 3.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 (HR10EG), a race-bred engine derived from Honda’s high-revving open-wheel programs. While restricted to around 500 horsepower due to regulations, its true character isn’t about peak output—it’s about how violently and freely it delivers its power.
What makes this engine stand out in the new video isn’t just volume—it’s attitude. The HSV-010 GT’s V8 sits deep in Honda’s racing lineage. It spins to extremely high RPM for a V8 of its size and uses minimal sound insulation, as expected in GT500 machinery, which is why it produces a raw, metallic, almost mechanical scream under throttle. This car was supposed to be the NSX successor everyone was waiting for.
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Hear The Glorious Honda V8 For Yourself
If you have not heard this engine revving before, you are in for a real treat. Honda has just resurfaced the HSV-010 GT in a new engine-focused video, and the result is exactly the kind of mechanical chaos we live for.
In the clip, two Honda engineers approach the car in a quiet, controlled garage setting. There’s no music, no narration, and no cinematic distraction. Just the sound of preparation: switches being flipped, systems coming online, and the unmistakable tension of a race engine about to fire. And then it happens. The engine wakes up, and is begging to be unleashed.
Any comparison to the Lexus LFA inevitably brings expectations of perfection. The LFA’s Yamaha-tuned V10 is famously operatic—clean, exotic, and almost musical in its pitch rise. But the HSV-010 GT’s V8 takes a different approach. Where the LFA sings and feels composed, this Honda snarls and feels on edge.
The HSV-010 GT may not be as widely remembered as Honda’s road cars or modern performance models, but moments like this remind enthusiasts why it still matters: it represents Honda at its most unfiltered and competition-focused.