So in a nut shell, what I'm hearing is that you think you can't gain 100-150 more horse out of heads, pistons, cam, crank, bore, intake, fuel system. Doing the SAME thing to an old v8 of any kind doesn't matter, that say... Made 330hp from the factory, like an old 383 or a 440. using a CARB and running on 93 pump gas you can easily build one that makes 750-775hp . I should know, I have a 1974 AMC hornet with a 401 bored 10 over that puts 800 on the ground. it runs low 9s. And thats on a road legal cheater slick, cars not tubed, full interior, all original sheet metal. So it just so happens I know my way around a performance engine or two, but not the new stuff. If you want pix I will upload a few, I know how people tend not to believe each other behind a vale of anonymity.
http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0574.jpg
http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/...t=IMG_0573.jpg
sorry about the quality, an ipod isnt the best for taking pics
(self correction, since this car doesnt have what you could conciser a traditional camshaft with lobes, i take back that statement. ) but from what i gather on how the VVEL works with the opposing rocker arms in place of lobes and stuff its all down to tuning. im sure theres tolerance limits to the stock system but from what i see it has potential to be FAR more versatile then having to swap in a cam thats physically different. its all operated and changed on the fly by the computer for the opening and closing duration and speed. thats some seriously complex stuff right there, but just like everything else it can be replicated and designed to be more performance oriented.