Flat-sixteen engine
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A flat-16 is a rarely used internal combustion engine, arranged in two banks of 8 horizontally-opposed cylinders.
These engines had two connecting rods per crankpin, so they could also be referred to as a 180 degree V16, rather than a 'boxer' design.[1][2]
Coventry Climax FWMW
The British engine manufacturing company Coventry Climax developed a flat-16 unit, the FWMW, between 1963 and 1965, towards the end of the 1.5-litre Formula One era.[3] The Brabham and Lotus teams designed cars for this engine but it was never raced. This was due to reliability problems in testing[4][5] and it failed to produce enough extra power than the engine it was meant to replace, the V8 FWMV.[3][6]
Porsche 917 / 16 cylinder prototype
Porsche ran some tests with a dual-spark flat-16 version of the 917PA, but it too was never raced, as turbocharging the existing flat-12 produced the required power.
References
- ^ https://purl.stanford.edu/zb672kp2685
- ^ Exclusive: Porsche to run sixteen cylinder engine at Goodwood (Video). July 17, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ a b Howard, K., (2003). Climax flat-16. Retrieved 19th April, 2017 from Motor Sport Magazine website.
- ^ Kierstein, A., (2013). From the Archives: Coventry Climax flat-16 engine schematic. Retrieved 19th April, 2017.
- ^ 'Sweet but unsung Sixteen', (2014). Retrieved 19th April, 2017 from Motor Sport Magazine website.
- ^ 'Climax, an engine to be proud of', (n.d.). Retrieved 19th April, 2017.
External links
- Archive photos of the FWMW from the Karl Ludvigsen Photograph Collection, Revs Digital Library, Stanford University.