Wildest automotive engine concept?

Here's one just for the sake of argument. Not really O/T, as it was all going on before or during the early 60s...

So what's the wildest engine idea to come out of the factories? Forget the nuclear reactor stuff, let's stick to ones that were actually built and at least tested... I'm avoiding the turbine, but I'm sure it will come up.

Here's my opening bid... The Ford Calliope.


A period article I have on this engine explains that it used magnesium block and head castings. There were 2 counter-rotating camshafts in the block. One for intake, one for exhaust. 3 valves per cylinder, and the engine was only designed for an ITB injection system. The throttle bores were cast as part of the heads.



It was a 7 litre (427) that was the forefather of the 385 series or "Lima" big blocks. Supposedly made about 680HP in Can-Am trim, but porous castings kept it from seeing any track time.

 

How about the chevy 302 Hemi Trans-Am engines??? Someone here has pictures of those... Wish I did.. I'd post'em!

Anyway.. Ford when on to produce the twin cam 3 valves per cyl. motor.. Like mine that makes 300 ponies with only 287 cubic inches..

 

The Chrysler turbine came a lot closer to production than that Ford.

SAAB built a 3 cylinder 2 stroke car in the fifties. They weren't even the only one, a German car called an Auto Union had one too.

In the thirties Chrysler built a prototype economy car with a 5 cylinder radial engine.

About the same time, Studebaker built an experimental straight nine. It was incredibly smooth but they decided the public wouldn't go for it.

Are those "odd" enough for you?

 

Love to see a pic of the straight nine!

 

This 12 cylinder Porsche Can Am engine from the early 70's still has the distinction of being the powerhouse behind one of the wildest rides ever produced.
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The Porsche 917/30 (aka TurboPanzer) was quite simply the most awesome racing machine of its time, perhaps of all time. The engine was increased in capacity to 5.4 litres, giving a healthy 1100bhp in race trim, with up to 1300bhp available for qualifying. The chassis was lightened and the bodywork extended with particular attention being paid to aerodynamics, giving a marked increase in top speed. Performance figures quoted at the time make illuminating reading: 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 mph in 3.9 seconds, 0-200 mph in 10.9 seconds, and a top speed of 257 mph.

Back then turbo technology was not as developed as now, so the power came in with a bang after a momemt or two of lag so driving the car on the limit called for fantastic skill and amazing reflexes, tightrope walking without a net. The massive horsepower on tap did not faze Penske's lead driver, as Donohue put it "If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower."

 

Concept?
Those are production reality.
Wildest concept award goes to Jocko Johnson and his radial 3 cycle engine idea.

 

Well I was going to say Porsche too, as they even tested a flat 16....

 

Subscribed

 

Experimental Pontiac engines

http://www.cadvision.com/blanchas/54pontiac/images/pontiac2.JPG

 

Before there was the Flathead v-8, Henry Ford Designed and prototyped a X-8

 

BRM Formula 1 team ran an H16 in the Sixties...

 

BRM H-16
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N5kxqC3N5c&feature=related

 

I saw this one & took these pics. Miller porn right behind Art Chrisman's at Squeek White's place about 2 years ago. Does this qualify?

 

Don´t keep us in suspense! What was it?

 

Cadillac Tank engine M5A1 Tank "Stuart"



http://www.robertsarmory.com/m5.htm

 

Cadillac v16 concept from a few years ago:



Chrysler Atlantic straight eight concept engine - two inline Neon engines, I think.....

 

NICE!
I have a book that shows a design for a 24(!) cylinder Miller marine engine. 3 big banks of 8 cylinders. Was supposed to be about 1600cu in. and had a supercharger 2' in diameter...! I don't think Miller ever built it.

 

So would I. The only mention of it I ever saw was in one of Tom McCahill's columns in Mechanix Illustrated. He had a lot of experience with cars, going back to when his father was connected to the Mercedes importers in New York City before WW1.

He said he saw the straight nine experimental engine in the thirties. If you know about engines, the straight six has the smallest number of cylinders with perfect primary and secondary balance and overlapping power impulses. It is inherently smooth. A straight nine, being 1 1/2 sixes would be even smoother.

 

Way back in 73 or 74, I can't remember when exactly, I was at a CanAM race at Watkin's Glenn. After crashing the primary 917/30 in practice / qualifing due to a flat tire, Donahue took out the spare and broke the outright lap record for ANY car (long course). After he pulled into the pits and took off his helmet he sat in the car for quite awhile before getting out. He was pale as a ghost and I'm sure his knees were knocking pretty good. In the race, he lapped the field twice. This car was the death of the CanAm. NOTHING in it's day could beat it. That motor gets my vote. Gary

 

The Chrysler multi-bank tank engine was a wild design for its day, 5 chrysler flatheads bolted to a common bedplate to make one 30 cylinder behemoth

 

Somebody must have been working overtime and bolted up one 8 cylinder flathead with four of the 6 cylinders.

The more common version had 30 cylinders.

 

Man my head hurts.cool stuff!

 

Lets not forget the Mazda/Wankel rotary motors. They had their problems but oh how they could rev.

 

My nominee - Adams-Farwell ROTARY 5 cylinder.
Built '05 to '12, the car used a five-cylinder rotary engine which would revolve in the rear 'trunk' of the car.

Rotary engines, as opposed to radial engines, do still have the cylinders arranged around a central crankshaft, but it is the cylinders that move, the crank being stationary. Radials are the opposite, crank rotates, cylinders stationary.

Cosmo

P.S. Yes, there is still at least one extant.

 

Eh?? If the crank stayed still, how did the car move?

 

GM played around with this idea in the late 70s! It's the same principle as the early aircraft engines where the crank was bolted to the fuselage and the entire engine bolted to the propeller. Not sure HOW you couple that to an automotive drivetrain...

 

Pretty much the same way except they bolted a sprocket to the crankcase and ran a chain from it to the transmission.

 

Yes! The Julian had something like that also, both cars were in the Bill Harrah Collection in the 1970's and they were in running condition.

 

Yep my mistake.

 

The doomsday hemi comes to mind.