Recently, BMW held a preview of its i cars here in Singapore and I had the opportunity to view the production-ready i3 and the i8 concept close up. Needless to say, these cars were stunning in their own ways.

However, what caught my attention was what was powering the i8. A little 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine will be used and it will produce 231bhp with the help of turbocharging. That equates to a pretty impressive 154bhp/L, which is on a par with most non-hybrid high performance sports car engines. It is also the highest of any engine produced by the BMW Group. But being BMW, it's no surprise as they have been great at pushing high bhp/L numbers with their earlier M3s and M5s.

With the engine capacity downsizing theme in trend and the need to make cars faster for the demanding customer, I wonder if there will unknowingly be a fight coming up for cars with the highest bhp/L?

I did up a list of some of the highest bhp/L engines that are still in and those out of production. Do bear in mind those cars listed here have power figures straight from the factory and are covered under their manufacturer’s warranty.

Turbocharged engines in production

- Koenigsegg Agera R – 228bhp/L
- Mercedes Benz A45 AMG – 178bhp/L
- Peugeot RCZ-R – 168bhp/L

Turbocharged engines not in production

- Ford RS200 – 250bhp/L
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII FQ400 – 203bhp/L
- Porsche 911GT2 RS – 172bhp/L

Natural Aspirated engines in production

- Ferrari 458 speciale – 133bhp/L
- Caterham R500 – 131bhp/L
- Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – 116bhp/L

Natural Aspirated engines not in production

- Caparo T1 – 159bhp/L
- Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 – 125bhp/L
- Honda S2000 – 123bhp/L

Honourable mention goes to Mazda for their work in the RX-7/8, which I chose to leave out of the list. The RX-8 achieves an awesome 177bhp/L from its little rotary 1.3-litre engine while the RX-7 does 212bhp/L with the help of the turbo.

So is this list exhaustive? I doubt so. So, readers feel free to point out any cars that deserve a mention in the comments below if I have missed out any.

local, engine, bhp/l and 8 more...

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