High-performance Engines for Super Sports Cars

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Legislation on CO₂ has already had a key impact on the powertrains of the latest sports cars and those already on the market. The most prominent example is how it has made people rethink the conventional concept of a high-performance engine: While naturally aspirated engines have long dictated possible performance in terms of displacement, the number of cylinders and high engine speeds, a downsizing trend has also unmistakeably emerged in this segment. Even a sports car manufacturer like Ferrari, for which EC legislation has provided a CO₂ exemption as a small-batch manufacturer, has since launched more efficient eight-cylinder engines with supercharging and lower displacement – as in the powertrain of the 488 GTB. Here, ensuring a rapid response is just one of the challenges faced. The thermal stress and a corresponding cooling concept are quite possibly the biggest technical hurdles to overcome, as Dr. Richard Osborne, Global Technical Expert for Gasoline Combustion at Ricardo, outlines in an interview. The British engineering service provider developed a 3.8-l V8 biturbo engine for McLaren (see left), which has proved itself capable of generating up to 496 kW depending on the model. …