Powertec V8 On Target

22nd March 2004

The new Powertec V8 project is progressing to plan. All the major design work is finalised and tooling for crankcases and drive system is being produced.

The 72º V8 can be installed with an all new lightweight transaxle (for rear engine installation) or gearbox (for front engine installation).

The engine will utilise Suzuki GSXR1300 cylinder heads and barrels, while all other major components will be supplied by Powertec. The crankcases are to be cast in high-grade, heat-treated, aluminium and will be machined in-house by Powertec's sister-company, Amicon Engineering. The crankshaft will be of a flat-plane design and manufactured from billet steel by Doug Kiddie Engineering, who currently produce the cranks for the Powertec 1500 and 1500 Turbo engines.

The V8 will be available with a capacity of 2.0 litre, 2.6 litre, and 3.0 litres. Several advanced features have been designed into this compact V8. For example, the engine is available with optional twin counter-rotating balance shafts, making it ideal for road use as well as racing. Banks of oil pumps are mounted on the side of the motor, F1-style, to scavenge the integral multi-stage dry sump system.

Powertec are working very closely with Quaife to produce two optional lightweight drive systems.

A six-speed transaxle, for rear engine installation will be very compact incorporating a transverse gear cluster, reverse gear system and a torque biased limited slip differential. Because of its compact dimensions and lightweight the alternative six-speed sequential gearbox will be ideal for a wide range of front engine installations.

Phil Abbott, head of the Powertec V8 project, explained "We have been working flat out on the design, to ensure that the packaging, performance and reliability are maximised. The 72º V-angle is the optimum for a compact motor, while the side-mounted scavenge pumps and dry sump ensure a low crankshaft location and subsequently a very low centre of gravity. The performance of these engines will be awesome because we are utilising superbike cylinder heads with their inherent combustion efficiency.

Our designer, Steve Prentice, has completed the detail design of the cast crankcases and billet crankshaft. This is where the inherent reliability will come from. With balance shafts to mute vibration and a range of starters, alternators and clutches to suit individual applications, I am confident of performance with reliability. We expect power to be over 350bhp with maximum torque in the region of 240Nm. The first car to have this motor installed will, of course, be the Radical SR3.