Lotus Omnivore engine - animated

[smart-za]

Here's a cool animation of the Lotus Omnivore engine (Lotus group link).

If you haven't heard of it before, the Omnivore is a two stroke engine that varies its compression ratio to operate efficiently on gasoline or alcohol. It also has a homogeneous charge compression ignition mode, which should mean low emissions and high efficiency. More details here.

Dunno how long it would take for this technology to appear in the wild.

-Simon

[jimepting]

It is a fascinating video. Two strokes of old were pretty dirty, but with all the controls on this engine, it may be a lot cleaner.

[xcel]

Hi Simon:

___Love the idea but it sure looks closer to an animation prototype than something workable in the real world. 2-Strokes offer more power per displacement so downsizing is natural and the simplicity is great. If they can keep the emissions down, the rings to seal at those high compression ratios and finally make it last for 150,000 + miles…

___I love the fact that it can run 100% Alcohol up to 40:1 which is big even under HCCI. For a country like Brazil, this engine design would be perfect if it can meet the other basic criteria.

___If you see any more, by all means pass it along as we need every last bit of efficiency we can get if we are going to survive an uncertain future.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[brick]

If you really want flex-fuel then I think this is a great concept for doing it properly. They are dead on about the loss of efficiency in conventional engines.