It’s actually a two-stroke stroke, but that’s not the point.
The Ferrari brand is synonymous with elegance and panache. Its history is filled with amazing designs such as the F40 and Testarossa. Despite its engineering talent, the Italian automaker often seems to fall through the cracks.
The Mike’s Mechanics Show’s latest episode features a supercharged 1.3 liter three-cylinder, two-stroke Ferrari engine. This engine was designed in the early ’90s. We were surprised to learn of this configuration, as Maranello is long considered to be the honorary birthplace for the V12. Although it didn’t see the light of day, this triple was a sign that things were to come.
Two-stroke powerplants, while simple and efficient, can be prone to pitfalls. I immediately think of inefficiency, low torque, and narrow powerband. Ferrari recognized the benefits of the platform and upgraded the technology to meet their requirements. The engineers used modern technology to achieve the desired result. The two-stroke engine featured fuel injection instead of carburetors, proper exit valves and even an oil lubrication system.
In recent years, we have only seen a few three-cylinder engines that are worth looking at. In 2014, BMW introduced the HTML8 which was a turbocharged hybrid three-cylinder engine. The Ferrari triple’s supercharged version was capable of 130 horsepower (97kilowatts), but a turbo variant could have produced an estimated 216 horsepower (161 kW) Considering the Bimmer’s internal combustion engine can produce roughly the same turbo figures, these are impressive numbers.
It’s unlikely that Ferrari ever considered two-stroke engines, or any other engine with less than eight cylinders, since the introduction of this powerplant in the 1990s. Maranello could possibly create a rival for the BMW i8 or Honda NSX. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.