The Ford GT40 was an American high-performance endurance racing car. The Mk I, Mk II, and Mk III variants were designed and built in the UK based upon the Lola Mk6 during the early 1960s. The Mk IV model was designed and built in the United States. The range was powered by a series of American-built Ford V8 engines modified for racing. Initially the GT40 wasn't a racing success until the project was moved to the US where further development vastly improved the car's performance and reliability.
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder. In some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder.
A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all types. The main types are: the internal combustion engine, used extensively in motor vehicles; the steam engine, the mainstay of the Industrial Revolution; and the niche application Stirling engine. Internal combustion engines are further classified in two ways: either a spark-ignition (SI) engine, where the spark plug initiates the combustion; or a compression-ignition (CI) engine, where the air within the cylinder is compressed, thus heating it, so that the heated air ignites fuel that is injected then or earlier.
A two-strokeengine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston during only one crankshaft revolution. This is in contrast to a four-stroke engine, which requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle during two crankshaft revolutions. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust functions occurring at the same time.
An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many small UAVs have used electric motors.
Petrol engine or gasoline engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol (gasoline) and similar volatile fuels.
A four-strokeengine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direction. The four separate strokes are termed:
- Intake: Also known as induction or suction. This stroke of the piston begins at top dead center (T.D.C.) and ends at bottom dead center (B.D.C.). In this stroke the intake valve must be in the open position while the piston pulls an air-fuel mixture into the cylinder by producing vacuum pressure into the cylinder through its downward motion. The piston is moving down as air is being sucked in by the downward motion against the piston.
- Compression: This stroke begins at B.D.C, or just at the end of the suction stroke, and ends at T.D.C. In this stroke the piston compresses the air-fuel mixture in preparation for ignition during the power stroke (below). Both the intake and exhaust valves are closed during this stage.
- Combustion: Also known as power or ignition. This is the start of the second revolution of the four stroke cycle. At this point the crankshaft has completed a full 360 degree revolution. While the piston is at T.D.C. the compressed air-fuel mixture is ignited by a spark plug or by heat generated by high compression, forcefully returning the piston to B.D.C. This stroke produces mechanical work from the engine to turn the crankshaft.
- Exhaust: Also known as outlet. During the exhaust stroke, the piston, once again, returns from B.D.C. to T.D.C. while the exhaust valve is open. This action expels the spent air-fuel mixture through the exhaust valve.
The Chevrolet "big block" engine is a term for a series of large displacement 90° overhead valve V8s that were developed and produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors from the 1950s until 2009.
A dry-sump system is a method to manage the lubricating motor oil in four-stroke and large two-stroke piston driven internal combustion engines. The dry-sump system uses two or more oil pumps and a separate oil reservoir, as opposed to a conventional wet-sump system, which uses only the main sump below the engine and a single pump. A dry-sump engine requires a pressure relief valve to regulate negative pressure inside the engine, so internal seals are not inverted.
The Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 is an air-cooled automobile engine developed by General Motors (GM) in the late 1950s for use in the rear-engined Chevrolet Corvair of 1960. The engine has six cylinders arranged in a horizontally-opposed boxer configuration. The Turbo-Air 6 was used in the Corvair and all models derived from it, as well as a wide variety of other applications.
A crankcase is the housing for the crankshaft in a reciprocating internal combustion engine. In most modern engines, the crankcase is integrated into the engine block.
The Bourke engine was an attempt by Russell Bourke, in the 1920s, to improve the two-stroke engine. Despite finishing his design and building several working engines, the onset of World War II, lack of test results, and the poor health of his wife compounded to prevent his engine from ever coming successfully to market. The main claimed virtues of the design are that it has only two moving parts, is lightweight, has two power pulses per revolution, and does not need oil mixed into the fuel.
A crankcase ventilation system removes unwanted gases from the crankcase of an internal combustion engine. The system usually consists of a tube, a one-way valve and a vacuum source.
The ME Four-Twelve is an American high-performance concept car that was engineered, developed and produced by Chrysler in 2004. The name is a combination of the Mid-Engine with Four turbochargers on a Twelve-cylinder engine.
The Bluebird-Proteus CN7 is a gas turbine-powered vehicle that was driven by Donald Campbell and achieved the world land speed record on Lake Eyre in Australia on 17 July 1964. The vehicle set the FIA world record for the flying mile at 403.1 mph (648.7 km/h).
Crankcase dilution is a phenomenon of internal combustion engines in which unburned diesel or gasoline accumulates in the crankcase. Excessively rich fuel mixture or incomplete combustion allows a certain amount of fuel to pass down between the pistons and cylinder walls and dilute the engine oil. It is more common in situations where fuel is injected at a very high pressure, such as in a direct-injected diesel engine.
The Rover 16/50 and Rover 16 are mid-sized cars which were produced by Rover from 1926 to 1929 and non-continuously from 1936 to 1947 respectively.
An internal combustion engine (ICE) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is applied typically to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into useful work. This replaced the external combustion engine for applications where weight or size of the engine is important.
The Mazzanti Evantra is a high performance crafted car made by Italian company Mazzanti Automobili that had its World premiere at the Top Marques Show Monaco in 2013. Evantra is produced on commission, in a maximum of five units per year.
Lightweighting is a concept in the auto industry about building cars and trucks that are less heavy as a way to achieve better fuel efficiency and handling. Carmakers make parts from carbon fiber, windshields from plastic, and bumpers out of aluminum foam, as ways to lessen vehicle load. Replacing car parts with lighter materials does not lessen overall safety for drivers, according to one view, since many plastics have a high strength-to-weight ratio.
