You touch on a subject that I am passionate about, i.e the current production car horsepower wars. I think they are foolish.
A small high revving motor that builds its power as the engine speed rises, coupled with a light weight chassis is the current state of the art for sporting automobiles wearing street tires (BMW M3, Ford Mustang GT). The limited production automobiles making 500 BHP and more would not be safe if it weren't for electronic traction control. Try driving one with the traction control turned off and you'll understand my point. From a performance stand point it accomplishes nothing to have more horsepower than street tires can couple to the asphalt. Obviously ego plays a role in such purchases.
My personal Holy Grail is a compact, lightweight, 400 bhp power plant powering a 2400 pound street legal sports car (6 pounds per horsepower).
I believe the new 5.0 liter V8 in the Mustang GT was designed solely because the enthusiasts interested in the Mustang associate the Mustang with V8 power. Its a niche market engine for a niche market car. But ... I'll admit Ford's new naturally aspirated 5.0 liter V8 in the Mustang GT is no slouch, making 412 bhp at 6500 rpm with a 7000 rpm limit.
Just for grins I thought I'd mention BMW's 4.0 liter V8 in the fourth generation M3 (E90) too. Known as the S65B40, the M3 V8 is naturally aspirated, high revving, delivers 414 bhp at 8,300 rpm, and 300 foot/lbs of torque at 3,900 rpm. Now that's a sports car engine!
The top model Lincoln normally gets Ford's top performance engine, and the current MKZ is equipped with a 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6, featuring direct injection, twin turbo chargers, and 355 bhp (same engine produces 365 bhp in the Tuarus SHO). This shows you which engine Ford considers its best and where the future lies. I'm very impressed with Ford's 3.0, 3.5 & 3.7 liter Duratec and EcoBoost V6 engine's. They surely represent the future. I wish the money spent on the 5.0 V8 had been invested wringing more bhp out of the EcoBoost motor.
A Twin-turbocharged version of the 3.0 Duratec V6 is used in the Noble M400. The engine is tuned to produce 425 bhp at 6500 rpm, with a torque figure of 390 foot/lbs at 5000 rpm. From a 3 liter motor! Now that's a sports car engine!
FYI, the Duratec motors are built in Ford's Cleveland engine plants #1 and #2. Where the 351C was manufactured.
I might have to trade the Continental in on a MKZ ... someday
-G