B-series engines from the old Honda days were pretty dang amazing from an engineering standpoint, as well as the KA motors.
I think 300hp from a stock Vulva S60R is pretty neat, and they sound better that Audi shit with exhaust stuffs
Coyote 5.0's are amazing engines, even moreso once you get some air and fuel blowing through them. For the price though, a built LS1 is better in almost every way except dem sounds. LS2's are junk.
Nothing beats the archaic brute force of an old carbed SBC though. They're just so simple and you can build them up any way you like.