Once a staple of the hot rod and modification scenes, the era of the big block V8 engines has largely ended thanks to technological advances in the 1980s and 1990s. The result was 340 horsepower ...

It’s known by several names: The LL8, Vortec 4200, or more colloquially, the Ameri-Barra. The latter draws on a comparison to the mighty Barra I6 that Ford sold for years in Australia.

Driving Line compares the GM 4.2-liter inline-six-cylinder Vortec 4200 to Toyota's 2JZ engine, one of the most powerful ...