If four's good, then eight must be better - that's the idea behind this jewel-like V8 engine built by Hartley Enterprises from two Suzuki Hayabusa four-cylinder powerplants. The 75-degree V8 displaces 2.8 liters, weighs only 200 lb and puts out 400 hp at a window-rattling 10,000 rpm. Torque peaks at respectable 245 ft-lbs (at 7500 rpm!), although dyno runs for a 2.6 liter version show a fairly flat curve. Aside from boring out the 'busa block from 81mm to 83mm, none of the wide variety of performance enhancements available for the bike version have been applied to the HE V8, so it's safe to say we're nowhere near the performance limits of the design.
Hartley's diminutive V8 is produced to order, with the 2.8 liter version priced under $30,000, depending on options. Check out the Hartley Enterprises website for more details, including video of a dyno run with the engine installed in a Caterham 7.
Thanks for the tip, Matt!
[Source: Hartley Enterprises]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ruggels @ May 19th 2007 11:32AM
Yup, this little gem has been making it's rounds for a while now, the guy over at dp cars is currently playing with two, one he is adapting for the atom - the other for his custom built track car... pretty damn cool stuff for any petrol head.
http://www.dpcars.net/
Will @ May 19th 2007 11:39AM
I think I recall seeing a short feature on an engine like this in Sport Compact Car magazine a few years back, although I thought it was a British shop.
Pretty spectacular to see the full development of a custom engine. Plus, with the established aftermarket for turbo 'Busas there's no reason an engine like this couldn't be making 600hp with a pair of off-the-shelf turbos. Even with two turbochargers and plumbing it would probably still be smaller and lighter than most four-cylinder turbo motors out there. Makes me want a twin-turbo V8 WRX.
zach @ May 19th 2007 12:02PM
oh man... can you even begin to imagine how awesome an atom would be with one of these in it. wow...
BKadalur @ May 19th 2007 12:17PM
i just wanna stick one into a go-kart. oh wait, an atom is a go-kart.
ruggels @ May 19th 2007 12:57PM
zach, you don't need to imagine, just go to dpcars.
AMcA @ May 19th 2007 1:08PM
Small V8s. This is exactly what Cadillac needs. Small V8s and lightweight cars.
I'd be SO there.
Rapid Roo @ May 19th 2007 2:20PM
I wonder how different this motor is compared to the one from http://www.powertecengineering.com/ that they have had and about for a few years now. I think the powertec version had gotten to about 2.6L or 2.8L as well.
ruggels @ May 19th 2007 2:28PM
I think you've already got it mush, low rpm torque, noise, the need to rev the engine quite high, etc.
Just look at audi's v10s, which share very little with the lambo v10s due primarily to torque characteristics and expectations of your usual drivers. Same holds for something like this, yea it's a lot of power in a small package, trouble is we've only seen it implemented thus far in track only specials.
Solo Racer @ May 19th 2007 5:31PM
I'd like mine in a Fisher Fury mid-engine, with 2 turbos, please!
Mac @ May 19th 2007 7:51PM
I'm wondering if this would fit in a Lotus Elise/Exige. I think that might be about the limit weight-wise. Can you imagine that car with double the power? You pretty much have to put it in something extremely lightweight to have something special due to the relatively low torque figures. I gotta say, though, that's gotta be one of the sweetest sounding engines I've ever heard when they're winding it out on the dyno.
Matt @ May 19th 2007 10:16PM
The Powertec used in Radical track cars and the RST V8 (http://www.rst-v8.co.uk/) are also Hayabusa-derived V8 designs. The Hartley H1 is shorter due to its novel cam drive layout.
The torque is quite ample, but of course it's dwarfed by the 10,000 RPM horsepower just like the motorcycle engine whose cams are being used.
Proud Japanese @ May 19th 2007 11:18PM
Not sure why you saying it must have no low end torque
http://www.dpcars.net/dp1/sim1.jpg
the 2.6 has a very flat curve. The 2.8 should be even better.
DasBoese @ May 20th 2007 8:41AM
What #9 said, plus, being derived from a motorcycle engine, expect it to be very maintenance-intensive.
Matt @ May 20th 2007 3:44PM
The Powertec engines are usually rebuilt after a season of racing.
I'm not sure what part of modern motorcycle engines is so maintenance-intensive -- the rings? The valvetrain?
John R @ May 20th 2007 11:07PM
I wonder if one could squeeze that into an S2000?
Racetrack-Owner @ May 21st 2007 12:20AM
It's technically interesting, but about $1K carefully spent on a boring old smallblock Chevy would eat that thing for lunch, and you can wedge one into everything from a Miata to a motorcycle without all that much hassle.
At $30K a pop, it seriously begs asking the question, Why bother?
why not the LS2LS7? @ May 21st 2007 12:31AM
Why aren't motors like this used in cars?
Why would they?
The bore of this engine is 83mm. That's 3". The bore of an LS7 is about 110mm (4.06").
When you go to the incredibly short strokes that motorcycle motors have, you have to go up in bore, and that makes the motors large.
You're talking about a V8 engine block that's about 15" long that makes 400HP.
Is that so remarkable? Why go exotic, high revving and noisy just to get those figures?
In short, that motor in that picture is a lot larger than you think. Although at 200lbs (presumably without any accessories like alternator), it's pretty light. (The LS2 is about 448lbs with all accessories, which would be a hair under twice the weight of this with accessories on it).
BTW, I looked it up, this thing is listed at less than twice the weight of a Hayabusa motor. This seems somewhat unlikely.
Dan @ May 21st 2007 4:53AM
This should be something to aim at: 400HP in 300lb (with accessories). So far no car engine manufacturer has produced something to really challenge LS2/LS7 in terms of HP/fuel consumption/form factor/price, all DOHC challengers proved to be mediocre at best.
There is no other way of producing a competitor for LS2/LS7 other than bumping the RPM to bike engine levels. The only drawback are the short maintenance intervals. Of course, before putting bike engines into cars, engineers have to solve the lack of strength under load of these engines (otherwise the only application will remain lightweight track cars).
Owain Ozymandias Buck @ May 21st 2007 8:17AM
Why? If you have to ask, you just don't know.
It's like a big V-twin motorcycle. It's not the best thing for getting around, it's not the most reliable, and it certainly isn't for a low profile. It's because something about it just calls you to it.
Just listen to the sound. If you don't get goosebumps and suddenly have a daydream about thrashing around your favorite small car with this thing bolted into it, then you just don't get it. It isn't your thing.
It's extreme--imagine your Miata or S2000 with this motor. Imagine a Camaro tooling around with a Pro-Mod motor in it. Same thing.
Just my 2 cents...
spdracerut @ May 21st 2007 1:23PM
"BTW, I looked it up, this thing is listed at less than twice the weight of a Hayabusa motor. This seems somewhat unlikely."
Uh... that would be less than twice the weight of the entire motorcycle. Modern 600cc and 1000cc motorcycles weigh in under 400lbs dry, just over 400 lbs wet (all fluids, etc).