There is no replacement for displacement, right? Well, not always. If you want a throaty, grumbly muscle car that channels the spirit of the genre's '60s golden era phase, then yes, a V8 is always the way to go. These big eight-cylinder mills offer effortless torque and power, with a soundtrack that takes you straight back to Woodward Avenue. But when it comes to pure speed, the four-cylinder has managed to catch up in recent years – helped, of course, by a turbocharger. So the question is, can turbocharged four-pot sedans outrun a modern V8-powered muscle car in a straight line? We decided to find out.HotCars used a 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T 5.7-liter with a manual gearbox as a baseline for comparison – a thoroughly contemporary muscle car with a very healthy 375 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. This V8 coupe raced to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds. We looked solely for four-cylinder sports sedans that could improve on that time, with cars allowed turbochargers but not a full hybrid system. This is what we found. Hyundai Elantra N (CN7) 0-60 MPH: 4.8 Seconds HyundaiThe Hyundai Elantra N is an unusual car to look at. The space age styling is certainly not unattractive, but it may be a bit busy for your average Volkswagen Jetta GLi buyer. What we do know is that the South Korean company's N Division has a similar level of focus to, say, BMW's M Division, or Audi's RS department, fine-tuning the top-tier products into serious performance machines.Hyundai The Elantra N packs a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that pumps out 276 horsepower and 289 lb-ft of torque. But that's not all. Fans of '80s arcade games will love the Elantra N, because it has a very cool turboboost-type feature, called, in Hyundai speak, the "N Grin shift", which gives a burst of 286 horsepower. There is a manual available, but the N Grin shift feature is only available when configured with an 8-speed Dual Clutch Transmission. The Elantra is a quick sedan, especially considering it costs from just $35,100, racing to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. Top 3 Rivals Volkswagen Jetta GLiHonda Civic Type-RSubaru WRX Audi A4 45 TFSI Quattro (B9.5) 0-60 MPH: 4.8 Seconds AudiYou've got to hand it to the Audi A4 TFSI Quattro. Very rarely has a car so ordinary looking been so fast – it's almost as if Audi set out to create the world's greatest sleeper. It's such a sleeper, in fact, that you probably didn't even know that it was fast. This mid-management exec-mobile is the kind of thing you might see parked half on the curb outside a coffee shop, with no clue to the fact that it could demolish a supercar of yesteryear.Audi The stealthy Audi is powered by a mild hybrid 12-volt system, which adds 13 extra horsepower to the turbocharged 2.0-liter four. In the 45 spec, the A4 has a decent, but not mindblowing, 261 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. That's what my lawnmower has in 2025, I hear you say. Well, it may not be wild on paper, but the A4 shifts on the open road, with 60 mph arriving in just 4.8 seconds, according to Car and Driver's independent tests. Top 3 Rivals VW Passat Toyota Camry V6 Alfa Romeo Giulia BMW M235 xDrive Gran Coupe (F74) 0-60 MPH: 4.7 Seconds BMWBMW has attempted to give the M235 xDrive Gran Coupe a bit of sportiness to its appearance - there are quad exhaust tailpipes, a blingy lit-up kidney grille, and an M Rear Spoiler - but the reality is, you probably wouldn't notice one parked up on your street. For owners, that's probably a good thing, as no doubt this car is aimed at sensible parents with a couple of small kids who like to have a spirited solo drive on a Sunday morning, but there is some real performance hiding inside.BMW The 312-horsepower 2.0-liter BMW M TwinPower turbocharged inline-four is matched to xDrive, BMW’s intelligent all-wheel drive system, and the result is a quick, small sleeper. The car, which is assembled in Leipzig, Germany, will hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, with Adaptive M Suspension constantly fine-tuning the car for your driving style and the road. To put this acceleration into perspective, the E90 BMW M3, with a 4.0-liter V8, will hit 60 mph in around the same time as the four-pot 2 Series. Top 3 Rivals Mercedes-Benz AMG CLA 45Audi S3Volkswagen Golf R Mercedes-AMG CLA35 (C118) 0-60 MPH: 4.6 Seconds MercedesAs with the S3 and the RS3, the CLA35 can feel a bit like the poor-person's version of the real deal. The CLA35 (like the S3) makes do without some of the visual aggression of the top-level car too, but any ideas that you are getting short-changed with performance are set aside when eying the spec sheet.Mercedes CLA35 rear driving picIn many ways, it's only because the mad 416-horsepower CLA45 S actually exists that anyone would think that the CLA35 is short on power. Not long ago, most people would find the CLA35's 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four pushing 302-horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque more than adequate. You also get a fancy seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system, plus AMG-tuned suspension that also comes with optional adaptive dampers. The CLA35 will rocket to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, which leaves you wondering whether you really need to spend almost ten grand more on the CLA45. Top 3 Rivals VW Golf GTIHonda Civic Type-RSubaru WRX Audi S3 (8Y) 0-60 MPH: 4.4 Seconds Ian Wright/CarBuzz/ValnetThe Audi S3 has always been the less lairy sibling to the mad five-pot RS3, with cooled-down looks and a more sensible vibe. But that doesn't mean it's slow. The S3 will whistle to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, making it significantly quicker than the V8 Challenger, and faster even than the 2000 Ferrari 360 Modena, a true supercar with a 395-horsepower V8. So how does the Audi do it?Ian Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet At the heart of the fourth-gen Audi S3 (8Y) is the ubiquitous EA888 turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit that you'll find in cars like the VW Golf R. In the Audi the engine is rated at 328 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. The S3 channels its power through a 7-speedS tronic gearbox and quattro all-wheel-drive, the latter ensuring maximum traction and likely helping to give it the edge over the Challenger and Ferrari (at least to 60). New for 2025 in the Audi S3 is a new dynamic plus mode, which is basically a torque splitter that sends as much drive torque as possible to the rear axle and the rear wheel on the outside of a corner, giving more oversteer – aka more fun. Top 3 Rivals VW Golf GTIHonda Civic Type-RSubaru WRX Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S (C118) 0-60 MPH: 4.0 Seconds MercedesWhen the 2026 Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S Final Edition was launched recently, it marked the end of production for one of Mercedes-Benz's most unusual cars. The CLA45 S is fairly ordinary on paper - it's a small sedan with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder under the hood. But in reality, this car is a mind-bending creation with the kind of warp speed that was once the reserve of Star Trek.Mercedes The AMG CLA45 S has a frankly bonkers 416 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque from its four-pot unit, which is almost exactly the same power as a Porsche 911 (996) Turbo's 3.6-liter mill. The baby Merc sends its power through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and on to the standard all-wheel-drive system. The CLA45 S will rocket to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat, which means that it will not only outsprint the Challenger but also go toe-to-toe with the aforementioned twin-turbo Porsche 911. Top 3 Rivals Audi S3M235 xDrive Gran CoupeVolkswagen Golf R Mercedes-AMG C43 (W206) 0-60 MPH: 3.9 Seconds MercedesTraditionally, when you lift the hood on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class or E-Class with an AMG logo on the trunk, you'd see an eight-cylinder unit staring back at you. That's what AMG does, right? At the very least, you get a six-pot in the C43. But not anymore. The C43 now borrows the turbocharged four-pot out of the A45, which, if you like big numbers, is no bad thing.Mercedes Anyone who is familiar with the A45, or indeed the Lotus Emira which uses the same engine, will know this manic four-pot doesn't mess around, offering up 402 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. The C43 has simply blistering acceleration, scorching to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. The cog selection is taken care of by a nine-speed auto with paddles, aka the AMG Speedshift MCT 9G. It's all worthy stuff and useful for drag racing V8 muscle cars, but there will be a few potential customers out there yearning for a V8 (or a V6). Top 3 Rivals Audi S4BMW M3Alfa Romeo Giulia QF