Was it all just bluster and provocation? Perhaps, but there’s no doubt the Old Man considered a sports car’s engine to be its very heart. As Enzo knew all along, a really great motor is as good a reason to buy a car as any other.

That’s as true now as it ever was. In this feature we’ll highlight 14 cars that are powered by engines so spectacular, or unusual, or downright incongruous that you’ll need no other reason to want to buy one.

Most of the 14 cars we’ve chosen are very affordable, too. Whether you favour eight cylinders or 12, natural aspiration or turbocharging, high rpm screamers or low-end torque monsters, here’s how to bag yourself a car with a truly great engine: