yeah ive noticed that. lets face the obvious, modern machining and designs are making some unprecedented horse power levels while maintaining decent drivability. its just $$$ to do it from what I'm finding.
Too bad nobody has a plug and play/stand alone computer to make it all work easily. A 5.7 with a carb will get you 400 horse and as much torque. A A500 o/d or a 833 would be happy behind it.