Comments on: The Ten Craziest Engines You Can’t Buy Today

By: mike h

mike h — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:24:06 +0000

enjoyed browsing through the coloum great photo,s mikemike h

By: Mad_Science

Mad_Science — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:20:15 +0000

You might want to talk to these guys: http://popsperformancecenter.com/for_sale.html

By: Joe Dunlap

Joe Dunlap — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:50:42 +0000

And there is also the Fairbanks-Morse opposed piston diesel used in submarines and locomotives. http://www.sdrm.org/roster/diesel/fm/index.html

By: Joe Dunlap

Joe Dunlap — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:36:29 +0000

Probably about a 7 on the goofy scale, there is the Ariel square four motorcycle engine also. Good post with pics here. http://www.arielmotorcycles.com/howard.htm

By: scroggzilla

scroggzilla — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:49:12 +0000

The final incarnation of the Novi appeared at Indy in 1966, in a 4wd rear engined chassis developed by Ferguson and Andy Granatelli and driven by Bobby Unser. That version of the Novi displaced 2.7 liters and, with a 2 stage Paxton supercharger, produced a whopping 837hp at 8200 rpms. While the car showed promise, being far more stable than it's FWD or RWD Novi powered predecessors, it crashed in practice. While the Novi never won at Indy, it did set speed records at Bonneville and at Monza during the Race of Two Worlds. Karl Ludvigsen wrote the definative tome of Novi powered race cars and, as with anything he writes, it's worth a read.

By: scroggzilla

scroggzilla — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:48:50 +0000

Used extensively at the Indianapolis 500 for 3 decades, designed by Bud Winfiled and Leo Goosen and built by Offenhauser. First introduced for the 1941 Indy 500, the Novi was a quad cam V8 displacing 3.0 liters (to my knowledge the Novi was one of the 1st quad cam V8's) With it's trademark Paxton centrifugal supercharger (producing 30 psi of boost) and a triple carb set up, the original Novi cranked out 450 hp at 8000 rpms. Over the next 3 decades, the engine was continually developed earning a celebrity reputation with fans for it's unique engine note while simultaneously earning a widowmaker/car breaker reputation with drivers. Power delivery was unpredictible, with a surge of power coming on suddenly at high rpms….not a good characteristic at a track like Indy. The engine was so powerful and highly stressed that it frequently broke itself (usually connecting rods or pistons) or the car around it (driveshafts, differentials and tires). These factors lead to many crashes over the years with 2 fatalities.

By: towie

towie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:05:51 +0000

water and air cooled X-8s, a radial 9 cylinder, and an "opposed L-head 4"?

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2008/01/27/sia...

By: Stoked News - News, Videos, surf, skateboard, snowboard, motorsports, action sports » Blog Archive » Automobile Powerboat - The Ten Craziest Engines You Can’t Buy Today

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:51:37 +0000

[...] Wednesday, over on Jalopnik, they ran an article about the Five Craziest Engines You Can Buy Today. We liked it, and we liked it quite a lot, actually. Nevertheless, we can’t help but think there’s a slight flaw in their logic — besides the huge, glaring omission of the Volkswagen Group’s series of W-engines, of course. Many of these engines are very nice, it’s true; but they’re hardly what we of the Hooniverse would call “crazy”. Most of them are pretty tame, if you ask us. So while we think Jalopnik did a great job on their selection of engines you can buy today, the entire Hooniversal Brain Trust sat down last night and discussed this. Let’s have a look at what “crazy” really is … Details [...]

By: JoeDunlap

JoeDunlap — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:02:35 +0000

From what I recall reading about it, while the concept itself was viable, there were major issues with heat buildup between 2 banks, as the exhaust from one had to be routed directly next to the intake of another. Of course, the ultimate expression of this would be to add two more banks and make it a 30 cylinder radial, LOL

By: JawzX2

JawzX2 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:20:50 +0000

obligatory Alfisti post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alfa_Romeo_Tipo...

Alfa Tipo 512 H-12. 1.5 litres, 12 tiny cylinders with short stroke, and large bore, dual overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder, twin, sequential (two stage) super chargers, tested (recently) to produce 335bhp at 8600 rpm, estimated to produce close to 500 bhp at the design-rated 11,000 rpm. In 1940.