http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...90036463034.htm

Interesting article about a new type of engine which is supposed to be more efficient.

What caught my eye was the drawing of it,

http://images.businessweek.com/mz/10...comotors36.pdf

is it me or does that look like an S2000 in the background?

 

Not a new idea at all, it's just back in the spotlight since Bill Gates dumped some money into the company developing a design.

 

pics or it didn't happen.

(aka, please support your opinion, not because i don't believe you, but because I am curious of this engines history)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposed-piston_engine

 

if i am looking at this correctly, both the blue and red bits are pistons. which makes a total of four pistons in two cylinders? it looks promising, but it also looks as though the long connecting rods coming from the outter piston to the center crank would be a weak point at higher rpm. at a minimum it seems as though they would be hard to balance and the motor wouldn't be smooth.

though thats just me looking at a not very complete picture, so i would guess that someone has done atleast some research.

i like the idea of engines that are more efficient, but i think that there is a lot to be had from traditional engine design. for instance run a modest sized engine with a turbo. but tune and build the engine to run extremely lean. you use less fuel, but still get the same power as a similar naturally aspirated engine. basically a different version of ford's eco boost. you could also have different engine maps programed for more power.

 

I like that the model car looks a lot like an S2000.

Could this be the S2000 successor? THE PLOT THICKENS! You heard it here first on S2Ki.com.

 

What are some of the potential problems with this type of engine compared to a conventional engine?

I would think if this was such a great design it would be in production still.