Joined
·
613 Posts
A super compact, lightweight V8 has been on my mental drafting board since I was in high school. There are a few things to consider, the biggest being internal friction, the next being development cost. We also have to consider that given 10,000 rpm working revs, a 2.6 litre 4 cylinder making 380 hp in full race trim isn't that much of a stretch.
My notebook sketches were more of a small-block chevy clone "mini-me". After all, the best part of an American V8 is the sound and copying the design only smaller, makes pretty much the same sound only quieter. Now simple math, let's cut the SBC by half. So that would make it 175 cubic inches or about 2.9 litres, 250 pounds trimmed, and making around 200 horsepower for a well tuned streetable motor or maybe 300 for a full race, hi-rev motor.
I spent some time googling and found some really interesting stuff.
Rover V8 in a Mini
Just about the coolest thing I have ever seen - Ken's miniature engines
Make sure you find the video of the small-block chevy with roots blower and the flathead with a very healthy cam... both motors run and are about the size of a shoebox.
My notebook sketches were more of a small-block chevy clone "mini-me". After all, the best part of an American V8 is the sound and copying the design only smaller, makes pretty much the same sound only quieter. Now simple math, let's cut the SBC by half. So that would make it 175 cubic inches or about 2.9 litres, 250 pounds trimmed, and making around 200 horsepower for a well tuned streetable motor or maybe 300 for a full race, hi-rev motor.
I spent some time googling and found some really interesting stuff.
Rover V8 in a Mini
Just about the coolest thing I have ever seen - Ken's miniature engines
Make sure you find the video of the small-block chevy with roots blower and the flathead with a very healthy cam... both motors run and are about the size of a shoebox.
