Porsche six-stroke engine revealed in patents – report
09/27/2024 06:00 PM
The humble internal-combustion engine has been given a makeover by Porsche, but it could mean more power and greater efficiency.
Porsche has filed a patent for a new type of internal-combustion engine which uses six strokes rather than four, as used in most car piston engines – said to create more power, improve efficiency, and reduce emissions.
Most engines inject petrol and air, compress the fuel, ignite the fuel, then push the spent gases into the exhaust, with the pistons working in a down, up, down, up movement – or four separate motions (or strokes).
However, as reported by Hagerty,Porsche has added additional compression and ignition strokes to the process – working to inject, compress, ignite, compress, ignite, and expel the exhaust, for a total of six strokes.
The internal mechanicals have also been changed compared to a typical engine, with the crankshaft spinning inside a ring on planetary gears, with two different top-dead-centre and bottom-dead-centre positions within the six strokes.
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The patent filing is described as being a “method for a combustion machine with two times three strokes”.
While the idea of six-stroke engines has been around for at least 140 years, the complexity and increased cost of manufacturing have meant they never became popular.
But with the increasing pressures on car makers to improve fuel economy and lower emissions, Porsche may be exploring new ways to ensure the internal-combustion engine lives on in the 911 for as long as is feasible.
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