Funny how the Nissan GT-R prove that wrong at times.
The VR38DETT @ 3,799cc are no small displacement. Coupled with twin turbo, its a monster in its own way.
I have posted few example of small displacement engine of Nissan, Toyota and Honda which are very potent indeed.
Veil..a..side, Even the smaller 1JZ-GTE could reach 5xx horses and still being reliable on right setup

The current trend is leaning towards FI btw, as it enables the manufacturer to churned out more horses from the same displacement engine. It was just that turbo setup is more complicated compare to NA, thus, required additional TLC...lol.