Could the FIAT group revive the classic straight 8 engine for ALFA?

Question

It seems to me, if you put 2 4 cylinder DOHC engines together you could make an 8 without having to make a whole new engine. Line them up, back to back, or shall I say front to front. Top it with a long finned aluminum cam cover with a big bulge in the center that covers all 4 of those gears on the ends of the camshafts. Attach a transmision to each end and make a 4 wheel drive, then cover it with a body that looks like the great ALFAs of the 30s. Make a nice conversation piece.

The concept was 2 engines, each one has its own crankshaft,camshafts + transmission. The front engine is turned around the tranny is in front of it and drives the front wheels. They are attached in a way that makes them look like 1 long engine. Between them is a motorcycle chain that can be driven by either crank, + drives an auxillary shaft, mounted next to the engines that turns the belts for the ancillaries. The car can run on 1 engine, so it gets good gas mileage when driven at slow speeds, and if some part breaks, u can still drive the car using the good engine.

Answer 1

This is unlikely to be successful in practice.

There are a number of issues:
The engine would require a new block to be developed and produced - simply joining two i4 blocks would cause problems with torsional rigidity, packaging and cooling.
Attaching a transmission to each end would cause huge packaging problems, leading to either a very long bonnet, or the engine mounted in the centre of the car, between the driver and front passenger. Further packaging problems would occur with the ancillaries normally located at the opposite end of the engine from the transmission (with the camshaft drive). Also one of the i4 units would need significant modification to enable it to rotate in the opposite direction to normal. Add the cost of two transmissions, and the problems of synchronising them, and coping with the differential speeds of the two axles during cornering, and it becomes better to use a single transmission and transfer box, like most current 4wd cars.
The crankshaft would be very long, so would have to be very stiff to prevent problems with torsional rigidity.
Most engines today are designed to be used in a number of applications (or at least to share major parts with other engines), so current Maserati engines are related to the Ferrari V8, Fiat's diesels are shared with GM Europe and Suzuki. It is possible to build a unique engine, but the costs per unit are very high.
The market conditions mean that the people who car about Alfa's straight 8 history are probably not those that could afford such a car.

There have been a few examples of developing an engine from joining two others, but it isn't simple. The most successful is probably the Aston Martin V12, which is related to the Ford 3.0 V6 used in the Mondeo (and some Jaguars).
A V12 crankshaft is shorter than that for a straight 8, so the torsional rigidity is less of an issue.

The rare 1990's Cizeta V16T supercar used a set-up that was essentially two V8 engines joined, but it was mounted across the car, with the take-off for the transmission in the middle.

Answer 2

Yes they could,of course they could. But why would they? Alfa romeo are right in the middle of a huge expansion plan with a sales aim of 300,000 in 2010-last year sales amounted to just 145,000 units. A straight 8 engine wouldn't help sales much would it. As a one off engine which wouldn't be shared with other Fiat group models the development costs would be sky high, and therefore the price the consumer would have to pay would be huge. If you could afford the list price,which would probably be in excess of $200,000/£100,000 then why not spend a bit extra on a classic alfa 8c? The reason why straight 8's are no longer commonly used is due to the invention (by Lancia) of the V engine. By arranging the cylinders in a v shape you can use less space to produce more power. If you would consider a V8 than Alfa has already created a car similar to what you're mentioning, the Alfa 8c. Packing a 450bhp V8 the 8c will do 0-60 in just 4 seconds and go on to almost 200mph, and yes it sounds great. Alfa have one the decent thing and clothed the 8c with a stunningly beautiful body. With a price of £110,000/$220,000 the Alfa is a true supercar. You'll have to settle for a second hand one, or wait for the convertible version if you want one though-Alfa are only producing a limited run of 500 coupes, all sold out. Ok the engine is a borred out version of Maserati's 4.2 V8, and will be used in a future gransport version of the Maserati granturismo but does that matter? As for joining two engine together the most recent version of this I can remember was a 6.0 V12 used in the Aston-martin DB7. This engine was made up of two Ford 3.0V6's. While it was quick it lacked the engine note of many of its rivals. Oh, and who says Alfas aren't great now? Apart from the amazing 8c Alfa offers a range of stylish sporty cars that are also beautifully built. Better than BMW for a lower price. The modern alfa's may share a platform with other Fiat group cars but as these platfoms are good I see no problem. Alfa's link to Fiat means that it gains access to Fiat's class leading multijet diesels allowing Alfa to appeal to a wide range of people. Frontwheel drive is fine too, purists complaining about that annoy me!!! Anyway didn't mean to go on.... but I did

Answer 3

There have been quite a few straight 8 engines over the years, and Cadillac made a V16 in the 30's, so from an engineering view, it's perfectly possible. The main problem these days would be in packaging what would be a very long engine in a car. If it was front engined, it would need a huge long bonnet, and if you mounted it transversely, the car would be too wide. The thought of an Alfa 4.4 straight 8 made from two current 2.2 DOHC engines is appealing though. Think of the NOISE it would make!!!

Answer 4

I read your question and smiled.
Then I started to think.

Joining two together is not original.
The Cosworth F1 engine, which won more grand prix than any other, started life as two cortina 1500 Kent blocks on a fabricated crank case.

With large diesels the Sulzer 12LDA28 engine was two 6LDA28 blocks mounted side by side on a common crankcase.

Hence, your suggestion is not actually daft.

Remember that it could perhaps be used in a Ferrari!!! and if you used two push rod blocks there would be no bulge in the rocker cover. That would look better