Engines are often called the heart of a car. They deliver the power and sound, and by no doubt, they are incredibly complex.
A modern engine is a product developed by hundreds of engineers. Every part has to be designed properly to not only fit into the whole system but also work with it.
The 16-year-old Glenn Töws from Germany decided to take a different approach and designs and constructs his own engine.
From the ground up to every single screw, he calculates and constructs every part.
Instead of trying to build an engine out of already existing parts, he taught his self in a learning-by-doing style and with many books, what the function of every single part of an engine is.
Why this engine’s name is Sōichirō…
“Success represents the 1% of your work which results out of 99% failure”
“Success represents the 1% of your work which results out of 99% failure”
– Sōichirō Honda
„The man who said this, Sōichirō Honda, is my biggest idol. And he’s the guy I have the most respect for, because he followed his dreams. I don’t want to be like him. I like his personality, the fact that he loved what he did and his culture. He’s the guy who helped me pushing the boundaries of the possible. He motivated me to go to my limit and beyond by looking back at his story of life“ says Glenn.
These are the specifications for the engine:
-Dry-Sump Lubricated 60° V6 cylinder arrangement
-A displacement of 1.2L / 73,2 cubic inch
-Twin Turbocharging with a pressure of up to 1.2bar / 17,4psi and electrically supported Turbochargers
-A maximum of 11000rpm
-Hybrid engine with an electric motor on the crankshaft.
-A minimum of 350hp (280-300hp from the combustion engine, 50hp from the electric motor)
-Direct injection with a pressure of 400bar / 5800psi
-DOHC valvetrain with contentiously variable lift on the intake valves (VAVAL) and variable timing on intake & exhaust valves (VAVAT)
-Maximum combustion pressure of up to 140bar / 2030psi
The specifications already show that this engine is operating in fairly extreme conditions.
To provide a good responsiveness even with such a big amount of boost, the electric motors in the turbochargers spool up the shaft when needed and if there’s a point when the combustion engine isn’t able to deliver the power it needs to, the electric motor on the crankshaft supports the engine actively.
Together with a new way to control the intake valves, the technologies implemented in the engine combine efficiency with sportiness. Glenn himself says, that the goal of the engine is to provide a system, that is able to run both in a family wagon but also in a race car.
The work in the project is not nearly completed. Currently, he works on the combustion engine. After evaluating the development, the next station is the intake and then the exhaust system. “When the engine and all its parts are evaluated and ready for production, the hybrid system will be developed to match the engine’s character. The goal is to provide a small, turbocharged system with good sound and efficiency and the responsiveness of a naturally aspirated engine” says Glenn.
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