I don't think the Westies accommodate a V8 particularly well - although there was the Westfield SEight; that was an RV8 which is comparatively narrow and short (physically and on power )
Yeah, it's a marmite thing.
For me, the seight certainly has the edge taken off its handling by the extra weight and more forward weight distribution. It also does a funny thing to the performance:
Unless seriously tuned, the Rover V8 gives about the same performance on paper as my car with a tuned 4 pot, give or take not a lot.
If driven smoothly, my car is a pussy cat once you're through 1st and 2nd gear in all conditions (ok, except black ice
). Torque peaks quite high in the rev range so you have to be deliberately "on it" to get anything approaching dangerous levels of engine output that will break traction and see you fishtailing into the bushes. As a result, I find I can drive it quickly in most conditions without clenching too much.
The V8, for similar basic performance, is the complete opposite. Squeeze the throttle a little much at 50 MPH in top gear and the back end lights up and it becomes progressively
more twitchy in the lower gears. It has comedy amounts of grunt available everywhere in the rev range and you can provoke gratuitous oversteer at any opportunity, something that would "require planning" in my car. For that, you have to walk on eggshells all the time. It feels like an over-engined car where you can't use its' full potential, yet when you can put all the power down it's not insanely fast by any means.
.. and then there's the fuel consumption (bearing in mind the 27 litre tank).
I can sort of understand the appeal, but it makes a completely different car, that I'm not sure I'd prefer.
As to larger V8s, well, no direct experience but they'll be more of the same (weight, torque and thirst). A few have used LS engines in Westfields and love them. Something light and revvy would be more my cup of tea. If you want a V8, build a Cobra.