Aiden's Car Blogs

In the race towards the internal combustion engine, French-born Swiss inventor Francois Isaac de Rivaz advanced engine-related technology in 1806 by building an engine powered by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. He achieved this with hydrogen gas in a balloon, which  he ignited using an electric spark from a Voltaic pile. However, this engine did not translate to a hydrogen-powered car.

The next step toward the internal combustion engine was in 1862 when a four-stroke engine was designed by Alphonse Beau de Rochas, a French civil engineer. The four-stroke engine consisted of four steps: intake, compression, power, and exhaust. Despite his patented technology, Alphonse did not develop a functioning engine, but rather allowed for the advancement of the four-stroke engine to continue; the four-stroke engine that today’s internal combustion engine uses is a version implemented by Nikolaus Otto in 1876.

 Up until the 1860s, all designs for the internal combustion engine were either theoretical or powered by hydrogen and oxygen. Most historians agree that the physical emergence of the world’s first gasoline-powered vehicle was in 1870. It was developed by an Austrian engineer, Siegfried Marcus, and was a one-cylinder engine with a crude carburetor. Several years later, Marcus designed a vehicle that ran at 10mph, leading few historians to consider the vehicle as the forerunner of the modern automobile. 

Finally in 1885, Karl Benz, a German mechanical engineer, designed and built the world’s first practical automobile, which was powered by a four stroke internal combustion engine that was single-cylinder and used petrol. He first built the car as a three-wheeler then went on to make a car with four wheels in 1891.

Through the efforts of these inventors, the configuration of some of the most common designs in the automobile industry as of today include the Inline, V, and Flat engines. Inline engines have cylinders that are put side-by-side and upright, and the compactness of this engine makes the design popular. V-engines have cylinders arranged at a 60-degree angle and horizontally layered so that the front view of the engine is a V-shape. These types of engines allow for many cylinders to fit and are often found in high-performance models such as the Lamborghini Huracan. Flat engines are referred to as a Boxer engine, and the cylinders lie horizontally, pointing to the sides of the car, which allow for a lower center of gravity. This type of engine is fairly uncommon. However, they are found most often in Porsche models, such as the Porsche 911 Turbo.

Lastly, turbocharged engines work by increasing their intake of air by using exhaust gases, ultimately allowing for more efficiency in engines and increasing power output. This is achieved by compressing air and allowing the turbocharger to burn more fuel. Unlike turbocharged engines, naturally aspirated engines utilize atmospheric pressure to draw air into the engine, which leads to less fuel burned, and less power output compared to turbocharged engines.

European engineers’ pursuit of developing a combustible engine evolved the automotive industry to what it is today. By adding ideas upon ideas, engine technology saw continuous developments, which made common engine layouts such as the V8 and Inline-6 available for car enthusiasts to enjoy. Engineers are still innovating new engine layouts such as the W16 in 2005 produced by Bugatti.