Klaus-Dieter Flörecke
Automobilwoche, 9 March 2009
Munich. The American Scuderi Group has completed the prototype for their split-cycle motor. The engine will be presented to the public for the first time on April 20, 2009 at the SAE World Congress in Detroit.
Based in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the American company has created a prototype for a four-cylinder gasoline aspirated motor with one-liter cylinder capacity. According to Scuderi this new kind of propulsion unit consumes 80 percent less nitrous gas than standard combustion engines with “comparable torque”. Until now $25 million have been invested in the project.
In its final stages of development, the unit, which will include turbo chargers and compressed-air hybrid components, should use 50 percent less fuel than comparable conventional drive trains. “The motor can be used in a wide variety of vehicles and will offer customers an economical, environmentally friendly alternative,” says Sal Scuderi, president of the Scuderi Group.
Various suppliers have been involved in the project. Together with Scuderi, Bosch Engineering has developed the injection system, Mahle has provided the pistons, and the technology for the valve drive system is from Schaeffler.
The basic Scuderi engine is a so-called split-cycle model in which the four cycles of a standard motor – intake and compression, combustion and exhaust – are divided between two pairs of cylinders. In one pair particularly efficient and clean combustion takes place with fuel ignition after the top dead center, Scuderi explains. Meanwhile in the other pair air is compressed.
While standard motors require two revolutions to complete a cycle, with the Scuderi motor one revolution of the crankshaft is sufficient per cycle. To manufacture the unit no major investment is required for new equipment or modifications to existing production processes.
Scuderi motor: The American Scuderi Group intends to revolutionize engine construction with its innovative new power train. A prototype will be introduced to the public at the SAE World Congress in Detroit in April.
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Bill Wrinn
Scuderi Group
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