A flat-sixteen engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-sixteen, is a sixteen-cylinder piston engine with eight cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft.
Flat-sixteen engines are less common than V16 engines, with only a couple of prototype racing engines using a flat-sixteen layout.
These engines had two connecting rods per crankpin, so they could also be referred to as a 180 degree V16, rather than a boxer configuration as used by most flat engines with six cylinders or less. [1] [2]
The Coventry Climax FWMW was a prototype flat-sixteen engine designed between 1963 and 1965 that was intended for use in Formula One. [3] The Brabham and Lotus teams designed cars for this engine but it was never raced. This was due to reliability problems in testing and a failure to generate the desired power output. [4] [5] [3] [6]
In 1971, Porsche developed a flat-sixteen prototype engine to use in the Porsche 917 that competed in the Can-Am championship. [7] The project was abandoned and the 1972 Porsche 917/10K was instead powered by a turbocharged version of Porsche's existing flat-twelve engine. [8]
Dr.-Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche, is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is owned by Volkswagen AG, a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Porsche's current lineup includes the 718 Boxster/Cayman, 911, Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan.
The Porsche 912 is a sports car produced by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany, for the 1965 through 1969 model years. An entry-level variant of the 911, it was also offered in compact 2+2 Coupé and Targa body styles. The nimble-handling 912 was a fitted with a 1.6-liter air cooled 4-cylinder flat-4 from the last of the 356s, slightly detuned to 102 SAE horsepower at 5800 rpm. The 912's high-efficiency boxer engine, low drag, and low weight allow it to get up to 30 miles per US gallon. Priced at $4,700, more than 32,000 912s were built from April 1965 to July 1969. Sales of the 912 initially outpaced the 911, boosting the manufacturer's total production until success of the 911 was assured.
The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is a mid-engined sports car designed, manufactured and marketed collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 to 1976. It was only available as a targa-topped two-seat roadster powered by either a flat-4 or flat-6 engine.
A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft.
A V4 engine is a four-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
A V16 engine is a sixteen-cylinder piston engine where two banks of eight cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V16 engines are less common than engines with fewer cylinders, such as V8 and V12 engines.
A flat engine, also known as a horizontally opposed engine, is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. A flat engine should not be confused with the opposed-piston engine, in which each cylinder has two pistons sharing a central combustion chamber.
A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, each pair of opposed pistons moves inwards and outwards at the same time.
A flat-twelve engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-twelve, is a twelve-cylinder piston engine with six cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft.
The Porsche 804 is a single-seat, open-wheeled racing car produced by Porsche to compete in Formula One (F1). It raced for a single season in 1962 in the 1½ litre formula.
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer.
A flat-six engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-six, is a six-cylinder piston engine with three cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. The most common type of flat-six engine is the boxer-six engine, where each pair of opposed cylinders moves inwards and outwards at the same time.
The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche. The 917 gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. Powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 liters, the 917/30 Can-Am variant was capable of 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 2.3 seconds and 0–124 mph (200 km/h) in 5.3 seconds. The long tail Langheck version had a maximum measured top speed of 362 km/h (225 mph).
A flat-eight engine, also called a horizontally-opposed eight, is an eight-cylinder piston engine with two banks of four inline cylinders, one on each side of a central crankshaft, 180° apart.
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The Porsche Boxster and Cayman are mid-engine two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche across four generations — as a 2-door, 2-seater roadster (Boxster) and a 3-door, 2-seater fastback coupé (Cayman).
The Porsche 982 is the internal designation of the fourth generation Boxster and third generation Cayman made by German automobile manufacturer Porsche. With the switch to a new turbocharged flat-four engine the marketing name for the models was changed to Porsche 718, in reference to the 718, which won the Targa Florio race in 1959 and 1960. The name is meant to evoke Porsche's past racing successes with light cars like the 718 that outmaneuvered competitors with larger and more powerful engines.
German carmaker Porsche built several series of flat-eight engines of differing displacements over the course of many years. They were mainly used in Porsche's racing cars.
The Porsche Type 573 engine is a naturally-aspirated, flat-eight racing engine, designed by Porsche for Formula One racing; and used for a single season in 1962 in the 1½ litre formula.
Porsche produced an extremely powerful twin-turbocharged flat-twelve engine for their Porsche 917 sports prototype; between 1969 and 1973.