---
title: 'The Best Engine Sounds Money Can Buy — And It''s NOT a Supercar'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=O1dSIbyina0'
video_id: 'O1dSIbyina0'
date: 2026-08-03
duration_sec: 632
---

# The Best Engine Sounds Money Can Buy — And It's NOT a Supercar

> Source: [The Best Engine Sounds Money Can Buy — And It's NOT a Supercar](https://youtube.com/watch?v=O1dSIbyina0)

## Summary

The video presents five affordable used cars that deliver supercar-like engine sounds for under $20,000, arguing that sound is a key part of the driving experience. It highlights specific models with notable engines, such as the Audi S6/S8 with a V10 and the Volvo S80 with a Yamaha-built V8, and explains why these cars offer exceptional acoustic value. The host, Brad Danger, emphasizes that these vehicles are accessible alternatives to expensive supercars, providing a thrilling soundtrack without the high price tag.

### Key Points

- **Introduction: Sound as a Cheat Code** [00:01] — The video opens with the premise that sound is a 'cheat code' in life, and you can buy a car that sounds exotic and violent for under $20,000, making people assume you're rich. The host, Brad Danger, promises to reveal cars that sound like supercars without the supercar price.
- **The Car Industry's Hidden Secret** [00:15] — The actual driving experience, including how special and exotic a car feels, is often more about sound than performance numbers. You can have 600 horsepower but sound like a leaf blower, or a $15,000 sedan that sounds incredible.
- **Audi S6/S8 (Early 2000s): V10 Power** [02:06] — The Audi S6 and S8 from the early 2000s have a 5.2L naturally aspirated V10 with 435 horsepower, the same engine as the Lamborghini Gallardo. They cost under $20,000, offering supercar sound in a conservative sedan. Aftermarket exhausts bring out the distinctive V10 warble.
- **BMW E60 M5: The Last of Its Kind** [03:31] — The E60 M5 has a 5.0L V10 with 10 individual throttle bodies, F1-derived knock detection, and a redline of 8,250 rpm. It produces 100 horsepower per liter naturally aspirated, a feat never repeated in a four-door sedan. It's a risky buy but offers a racing car sound.
- **Ford Mustang GT (1999-2004): The Gateway Car** [04:55] — The 1999-2004 Mustang GT with the 4.6L PI V8 has improved cylinder heads that give it a warmer, more musical exhaust note. It's an entry point into engine sound appreciation, with parts everywhere and a passionate community, available for under $10,000.
- **Mercedes C63 AMG (2008-2011): The M156 V8** [06:14] — The C63 AMG has a 6.2L naturally aspirated V8 built entirely in-house by AMG. It's the same engine as the SLS AMG, and the factory exhaust is already loud, cracking and barking at idle. Available for high teen money, it's an almost offensive deal.
- **Volvo S80 V8: The Surprise Contender** [07:29] — The Volvo S80 V8 has a 4.4L V8 built by Yamaha, the only transverse V8 in a modern luxury sedan. It sounds almost Italian, smooth and melodic, and can be found for under $10,000. The depreciation makes it a gift to enthusiasts.
- **The Big Picture: The End of an Era** [09:19] — Natural aspiration and high-revving engines are going away, replaced by synthesized sounds. These five cars are artifacts from the last era of genuinely alive engine sounds, and they are not getting cheaper. The market is waking up to their value.

### Conclusion

The video concludes that these five cars offer supercar-level engine sounds for under $20,000, serving as an antidote to the homogenization of modern car audio. They are affordable now but will likely appreciate as enthusiasts recognize their unique value.

## Transcript

need a Ferrari. You need like $20,000 and a willingness to lie to yourself just a little bit because right now today you can buy a car that sounds so good, so violent, so genuinely unhinged at a cold start that people will stop on
the sidewalk and stare. And those people will assume you're rich and you will not correct them because you bought this car for less than a used Kia Sportage with a premium package and a floor mat. Sound [music] is the cheat code in life and
today I'm handing it to you for free. Here's the thing the car industry doesn't want you to figure out. The actual driving experience of a vehicle, how special it feels, how exotic it seems, how much your heart rate goes up
almost any other number on the spreadsheet. You can have 600 horsepower and sound like a leaf blower. Or you can have a $15,000 sedan that fires up on a walk outside in its bathrobe just to figure out what that sound is. That is
the kind of power we are discussing today. Now, to be clear, the cars on performance. I'm not going to insult your intelligence. These are not track take to a Ferrari meet up without an
something that matters just as much as the actual daily experience of owning a car and that is soundtrack that punches so far above its price tag it should be embarrassing. It's not embarrassing. It's actually genius. I'm Brad Danger.
video some of you are going to feel personally attacked. But first we just got done giving away our second giveaway cars. So, we're about to do our third Click the link down below and put in your email so you're the first to know
when that drops. Like, subscribe, and let's go. Hey guys, real quick, the giveaway for the Shelby and Supra in the $100,000 has ended and well, the winners are being picked right now. But we're coming back bigger and better and
first comment because like Rocky who won the GT-R, like Greg who won the 100K, you can sign up to be notified and get 100 free entries once it goes live. So, click the link down below, go put in your email, and I can't wait to show you
what we have cooking. All right, back to the show. First up, the Audi S6 and S8 from the early 2000s. On the outside, a conservative German luxury sedan, the kind of car driven by men named Gerald who have strong opinions about airport
lounges. Ugh, okay, brother. On the inside though, a 5.2 L naturally aspirated V10, 40 valves, 435 horsepower, the same engine Gallardo. Yeah, you heard that correctly. A Lamborghini Gallardo will
cost you six figures minimum. It will also spend a meaningful portion of its more than most people's mortgages. The Audi S6 with effectively the same engine will cost you under 20 grand. It has four doors, and Gerald from accounting
will never look at it twice. This is not a downside. This is the entire strategy. Now, Audi did what Audi does, which is take something magnificent and then quietly smother it with noise insulation and conservative tuning because they
didn't want to scare the S-Class crowd. In stock form, these cars are not loud. They're actually quite refined, which is almost offensive when you think about aftermarket exhaust on one, and whole
personality changes. The V10 warble, yeah, that distinctive five-per-bank pulse starts to come through in a way that makes no sense for a car wearing a road sounds like it. Not a V8, not a V12. A V10 is its own thing entirely.
And you can have one for the price of a used pickup with questionable history. maximum version of this concept, uh there's the E60 BMW M5. And I have to be straight with you. Buying a high-mileage E60 M5 for 20,000 bucks is genuinely one
decisions available in today's used car market. And I say that with a full respect to your anatomy as an adult who gets to make their own decisions. The the stuff of Reddit horror stories. The electronics are complex, the fuel
consumption is a personal attack. There is a reason these are going for 20 grand. But that engine is a relic. 5-liter V10, 10 individual throttle bodies, Formula [music] 1 derived per cylinder knock detection,
a redline that kissed 8,250 rpm in a four-door sedan family car that you could theoretically take to soccer practice. 100 horsepower per liter naturally aspirated in 2005. That has never been done again with four doors
and it never will be. Turbos won, efficiency won, accountants with spreadsheets won. The world became more sensible and more boring at the exact same time. And the E60 M5 is the last thing standing from the era before that
and blip the throttle, it doesn't sound like a sedan, it sounds like a racing car that somehow passes emission tests through what I can only assume was a human being with a normal bank account and a therapist you'd like to keep
seeing, the 1999 to 2004 Ford Mustang GT is your entry point into this whole world. I know, I can feel the eye rolls through the screen. Brad, it's a Mustang GT, my uncle has one. He wears a Ed Hardy shirt to car shows. Absolutely
valid, but stay with me, brother. Starting in 1999, Ford fitted what they called a performance improved cylinder heads to the 4.6-liter modular V8. New camshaft, new intake, better breathing, simple stuff. But it changed the
character of this engine's exhaust note into something genuinely pleasant. Warmer, more musical, almost European in quality compared to the pushrod V8 it was competing against at the time. The overhead cam architecture gives this
motor a character that sits in an interesting middle ground. It's not the traditional American muscle, it's something smoother and more refined, actually what makes [music] it special. With the right exhaust, and you will
absolutely want to do something about that exhaust, the 4.6 L PI Mustang sounds like a car that costs dramatically more than it does. You can find one for under $10,000. Parts are everywhere. The knowledge base is
enormous. The ownership community is passionate to a degree that borders on a lifestyle choice. This is the gateway car on this list. This is where you start if you're new to caring about engine sound and you don't want to
immediately cry about repair bills. Now, there's also the M156 engine, 6.2 L naturally aspirated built entirely in-house by AMG. Yes, we're talking about the C63 from '08 to '11. And AMG started with a blank sheet and built the
V8 they actually wanted to build. And then they put it in the cheapest AMG get this engine without having to sell a kidney and two vacation properties. A version of this exact engine lives in the Mercedes SLS AMG, the gullwing,
something a movie villain drives before the hero ruins his whole evening. And here's the C63 wearing sensible C-Class body stuffed with the same barking, cracking, absolutely furious V8 available right now for high teen money.
The sound of cold started C63 AMG is one of the great free experiences available on this planet. It cracks at idle. It barks at throttle. It makes a sound on a bystanders to reach their phone out of pure reflex. And the best part? You
don't need to touch the exhaust. The factory setup is already loud. AMG knew always know exactly what they're doing, at least acoustically. Mechanically, owner community knows about it. There's a fix for it. Just account for it and
move on. 20 grand for this engine, for this sound, this year? It's almost offensive how good this deal is. And then there's the one that's going to disbelief, and the other half immediately start searching for used
listings. Yes, you didn't know about this car, the Volvo S80 V8. Go ahead, laugh. I'll wait, brother. See, Volvo, the brand that built its entire identity around being responsible, the car that comes factory standard with airbags,
good intentions, and the faint smell of a library. Volvo put a V8 in their flagship sedan. And in a twist that makes the story genuinely incredible, they didn't build it themselves. They called Yamaha. Yes, that Yamaha. The
synthesizers, and apparently one of the most interesting V8 engines of the 2000s. The 4.4 L unit they produced for the Volvo has a 60° bank angle, quad construction, and the mounting configuration that put it sideways under
the hood. The only transverse V8 in a modern luxury sedan at the time. Yamaha tuned the intake and exhaust manifold specifically to optimize the sound, and what they came up with is something that genuinely has no right to exist in a car
named after a Swedish safety sedan. It sounds almost Italian, smooth, and melodic, with a warmth that most V8s don't have. With a proper exhaust setup, enthusiasts with actual taste recognize immediately. Everyone else will just
stand there confused, trying to figure out why the Volvo sounds like that. You can find one of these for under 10,000 bucks. Yes, $10,000 for a Yamaha built V8 that sounds like something from a country where they wave flags with
horses on them. The depreciation curve on these things is a genuine gift to anyone paying attention. Nobody will see it coming, nobody will expect it, and when it starts up in a parking garage at the right moment, the acoustics will do
things that are almost spiritual. So, here's the big picture. We're living through the end of something. Natural aspiration is going away. High-revving engines are going away. Analog exhaust notes are being replaced by synthesized
sound pumped through speakers because manufacturers apparently think that some of you are. Most of you aren't. You're watching a whatever responsible thing that you're supposed to be doing. These five cars
are the antidote. They are the artifacts from the last era of when when engineers were still allowed to make something that sounded genuinely alive. And they are available right now for the kind of money that most people spend on a used
truck that smells like fast food and regret. And they're not getting any cheaper. The good ones are already moving up. The market is slowly waking up to what these things actually are. So, five cars under 20,000 bucks
supercar sound. Go find them before they are all discovered and they're all way first comment via AutoTempest. And remember to like, subscribe, turn on some of these Ideal videos over here. I'm Brad Danger. This is Ideal. And
promise me one thing. Keep living the ideal lifestyle.