"When someone speaks of Yamaha, what do you think of? Is it two-stroke dirtbikes and jet skis or their record of building more than a few of the best production car engines in the world? I wouldn’t blame you if it were the former, nor could I if you did not know of their involvement with major manufacturers. But it is true. Since the eighties, Yamaha has been contracted by the likes of Ford, Toyota, and Volvo, culminating in extraordinary engines. Yes, even the swedes contracted Yamaha, and the resulting 4.4-liter V8 in the XC90 was an absolute peach."
"In 1999, Volvo Group needed financial help, so the Big Blue Oval out of Detroit bought its automotive division and began consolidating parts and engineering. Around this time, Volvo was preparing to get in on the SUV boom of the ’00s, and with the Americans’ help, they could deliver a stylish and traditionally Volvo-safe seven-seater. However, early engine options left the XC90 relatively underpowered by its European rivals, the X5, Cayenne, GL, and Tiguan. In typical American fashion, a V8 was deemed necessary for the Volvo to compete, which meant a new engine."
"Volvo’s safety is world-renowned, which wasn’t going to stop with Ford’s acquisition. The XC90’s engine bay existed as part of Volvo’s Structural Beam Network, and while very safe, it came with some size restrictions. Ford’s 90° V8s were too big to be mounted in the proposed SUV, so the project manager looked elsewhere for engineering. Yamaha and Ford shared a lot of success with the Taurus SHO’s V6 and V8, both longitudinally-mounted, so Yamaha was contracted for engine design. The resulting B8444S took up every last available inch of space in the XC90’s engine bay without any modification and produced the power, sound, and luxurious feel everyone had hoped for."
"To fit in the XC90, Volvo engineers gave the B8444S a 60° vee-angle and a weird cylinder bank arrangement. All non-inline engines have offset cylinder banks, it’s the only way they can work, but because of packaging restrictions, the Volvo V8 had to forego tradition and place the left bank ahead of the right. Could they have fit a 90° V8? Probably, but not without losing the four-valve, dual-overhead-camshaft cylinder heads utilizing variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust camshafts. Today, that’s commonplace, but it was a wonder back in 2005. Inside the aluminum cylinder block, the final displacement measured at 4.4-liters, or 270 cu in. It wasn’t necessarily the most powerful engine that Yamaha had the task of developing, with 311 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque all it would produce throughout its seven-year service in the XC90 and S80. It would’ve been a shame if the B8444S’s story ended, but thanks to a few different companies, it lived on."
"Volvo wasn’t the only manufacturer to use the B8444S in a production car. There was one other, a microscopic outfit based in Leicester, England, in the business of building the best driving cars you’ve likely never heard of. Designer and engineer Lee Noble started his namesake company in 1999 and quickly established itself as a respected small-volume manufacturer. A decade of success led them to the M600, a model they continue to produce today. Mounted in the middle of the M600’s carbon body is a modified variant of the 4.4-liter Yamaha V8. Three hundred horsepower was nowhere near enough for Noble, so they fettled with the rotating assembly to make it stronger and then slapped on a couple of turbochargers for good measure. The power-supporting fundamentals included in the original design made the V8 an ideal starting point and resulted in a power output above 600 horsepower. "
"The V8 also saw some life in professional racing at the hands of the Polestar team. Their entry into the V8 Supercars series meant the B8444S was needed. The final product was a 5.0-liter that replaced the production cross-plane crankshaft for a flat-plane piece. Running on E85 and pulling through individual carbon fiber throttle bodies, the race engine wasn’t close to the XC90’s engine by any means, but they did share the same basic engine block."
"Today, many XC90s are still rolling around with their V8s in good shape. Very little typically went wrong with them, though the earliest engines had an issue with a balance shaft bearing that would eventually cause the engine to jump timing, destroying itself. Engines part-way through 2006 through the end of production had a permanent fix. Other smaller issues like power steering pump and alternator failures occurred regularly, but enough to cause worry. Don’t be surprised if you find them in an XC90 or S80 with well over 200,000 miles; they’ll run for a long while if you take care of them."
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