Automakers keep promising the V8’s retirement, yet a handful of showroom staples still send that big-displacement rumble through the exhaust in 2026. Naturally aspirated and supercharged versions survive alongside hybrids and electric trims, mostly in trucks, SUVs and one sports car built around raw displacement rather than turbo boost. Here are nine cars, trucks and SUVs that still pack a V8 for buyers who refuse to give it up.
1. Chevrolet Corvette: A Pushrod V8 Still Rules
The mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8 pairs its aluminum chassis with a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter LT2 V8, a pushrod design mounted behind the cockpit that still produces 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque without any turbocharger or electric assist bolted on. Chevrolet routes that output through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, sending the Corvette from a standstill to 60 mph in roughly 2.9 seconds.
That combination keeps the exhaust note, throttle response and driving character that older performance buyers associate with American V8 sports cars, even as most rivals shrink to smaller turbocharged engines for fuel-economy rules. Enthusiasts shopping for a domestic sports car with a traditional engine layout still have the Corvette as a factory-backed option.
2. Ford Mustang: The Coyote V8 Lives On
The seventh-generation Ford Mustang keeps the GT trim built around a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V8, rated at 480 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque when paired with the active exhaust package. Ford still offers that engine with a six-speed manual transmission, one of the few remaining V8 muscle cars sold new with three pedals.
That manual-and-V8 pairing puts the Mustang in a shrinking category as competitors move toward turbocharged four-cylinders or drop two-door coupes altogether, giving buyers who want a loud, naturally aspirated engine one of the last mainstream options left on a new-car lot.
3. Ford F-150: A V8 Option Survives
The Ford F-150 still lists a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 as a mid-range engine choice, rated at 400 horsepower and 410 pound-feet, positioned between the base turbocharged V6 and the twin-turbo EcoBoost and hybrid options higher in the lineup, and it remains the least expensive V8 pickup Ford builds.
Fleet buyers and traditionalists keep the V8 in production despite its lower towing numbers than the turbocharged engines, because it needs no turbo plumbing and has a long maintenance record that many owners trust over newer, more complex powertrains for high-mileage work trucks.
4. Chevrolet Tahoe: Standard Power Stays V8
The full-size Chevrolet Tahoe is built around a 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 as its standard engine, producing 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet, with cylinder deactivation that shuts down half the cylinders during light-throttle cruising to save fuel on the highway.
General Motors sells a 6.2-liter version in the high-trim Tahoe RST and High Country, so families cross-shopping three-row SUVs can still choose a V8 over the turbocharged inline-six that GM offers as the fuel-sipping alternative. That range gives Tahoe buyers more engine choice than most rivals still selling a body-on-frame SUV.
5. Chevrolet Suburban: Bigger Body, Bigger V8
The extended-length Chevrolet Suburban offers a 6.2-liter V8 rated at 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet as an option above the standard 5.3-liter engine, giving the longest SUV in Chevrolet’s lineup enough torque to tow up to roughly 8,300 pounds when properly equipped.
Buyers who need the extra cabin and cargo length of the Suburban over the shorter Tahoe can still pair that space with the bigger of GM’s two full-size V8s, an option families hauling trailers or large groups tend to select over the base engine.
6. GMC Yukon: Same Small-Block, More Luxury
The GMC Yukon shares its engine bay with the Tahoe and Suburban, offering the same 5.3-liter V8 standard and the 6.2-liter V8 as an upgrade on Denali and Denali Ultimate trims, both built on GM’s current small-block architecture.
That shared architecture means Yukon buyers get the same towing capacity and V8 sound as GM’s other full-size SUVs, just wrapped in GMC’s more upscale interior and styling, without any separate engine engineering cost passed on to the sticker price. That value keeps the Yukon Denali competitive against pricier luxury SUVs with similar towing numbers.
7. Cadillac Escalade: Flagship Keeps Its V8
Cadillac still builds its Escalade flagship around a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 making 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet, the same engine GM uses across its full-size trucks and SUVs, rather than switching its flagship to a smaller turbocharged or hybrid powertrain like several competitors already have.
That decision keeps a traditional V8 under the hood of Cadillac’s most expensive SUV, a choice the brand’s buyers have historically rewarded even as rivals from Lincoln and European luxury makers move their large SUVs toward six-cylinder and electrified engines instead.
8. Dodge Durango: A Supercharged Hemi Holds On
The Dodge Durango still sells with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 on R/T trim and a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi on the SRT Hellcat version, making it one of the only three-row SUVs sold new with a factory supercharged engine option.
That combination has made the SRT Hellcat version a cult favorite among performance-SUV shoppers. Stellantis has signaled the current Durango generation is winding down, so buyers wanting a supercharged three-row SUV with genuine towing capability have a narrowing window before the Hemi lineup disappears from Dodge’s showroom entirely, likely replaced by turbocharged or electrified successors.
9. Chevrolet Silverado 1500: V8 Power At The Top
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 offers a 6.2-liter V8 rated at 420 horsepower on its High Country and premium trims, one step above the more common 5.3-liter V8 that most Silverado buyers choose as their standard engine across most cab and bed configurations.
Chevrolet reserves the bigger V8 for its most upscale half-ton trims rather than the diesel or turbocharged four-cylinder buyers pick for fuel economy, so shoppers chasing V8 power in a full-size pickup still have to climb toward the top of the price range to get it.
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