Revetec, a little known company from the Gold Coast region of Australia, may be on to something huge: they’ve created an engine that is 50% smaller, 50% lighter, has 50% lower emissions and is cheaper to manufacture than a conventional internal combustion engine of the same horsepower. Oh yeah, did I mention that it doubles the fuel economy too.

What that means is a car like the 2007 Toyota Yaris, which is rated at 40 mpg on the highway, would get 80 mpg with a Revetec engine.

This isn’t some hoax… They have a prototype which has been attached to an actual vehicle and independently tested to substantiate their claims.

In personal communication with Mr. Brad Howell-Smith, the Chairman, Inventor and CAD Designer for Revetec, he says “road tests have estimated that [the engine] uses around 50% less fuel than a conventional engine” and if it were converted to run on diesel, that performance gain could be much higher.

Also, because the engine delivers higher torque, and can perform and operate well at much lower rpm’s than a conventional one, the noise levels are lower.

To illustrate how serious he is, Mr. Howell-Smith said that since 2001 his company has been in touch with the US Military Head of R&D for the Southern Hemisphere on a “regular basis” for the purpose of developing one of their engines for light aircraft.

The current prototype engine, the X4v2, is what Revetec calls a “controlled combustion engine.” The meat of the engine comprises two counter rotating multilobate cams, which are acted upon by two pairs of diametrically opposed pistons which are rigidly interlinked by connecting rods.

If that sounds like complete gibberish to you, you’re not alone. Which is why I included an animation of the process to the left. A more simplified animation of the general motion of an engine of this sort is also included below.

Mr. Howell-Smith said that “if [the engine] uses 50% less fuel given that it has the same top end as a conventional engine, emissions would be reduced by 50% if the bottom end was utilized.”

What does all that stuff about “bottom end” and “top end” mean? The X4v2 has a huge amount of torque over a much larger range of rpm’s than a conventional internal combustion engine.

If a person were to drive a vehicle fitted with this engine in a non-aggressive fashion and keep the rpm’s at the “bottom end” (meaning no “jack-rabbit” starts) they could expect to see a 50% reduction in emissions.

Alternatively, according to Mr. Howell-Smith, a person could see a 30% reduction in fuel use and a 30% reduction in emissions if they used the full acceleration power of the X4v2 all the time. This would provide a 20% increase in acceleration capabilities.

We could debate about whether or not the internal combustion engine has a place in the future of transportation or whether it’s going to be all-electric or fuel cell or whatever… but in the meantime, Revetec has a product that could revolutionize the the transportation industry now, and provide a much needed large reduction in fuel consumption and emissions.

Just imagine a bunch of 80 mpg Toyota Yarises (Yarisi??) running around all over the place. A little scary, I know, but… an 80 mpg conventional automobile? I must be dreaming, wake me up before I get too excited.

Posts Related to Engines and Fuel Economy:

• Turbine Engine: No Pistons, No Lube, 30% Better Fuel Economy
• Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)
• Formula 1 Racing to Go Hybrid from 2009-2013
• Scania’s Ethanol Diesel-Engine, Runs On Biodiesel Too
• How Biodiesel Fuel-Cells Could Power The Future (And Your Car)
• Need a New Car? Nope, Just a New Engine!
• U.S. Fuel Economy Standards Boosted to 31.6 MPG by 2015

Image Credits: Revetec

All these years, I’ve been doing the simple math of dividing the number of gallons used over a given number of miles driven, to determine how my car is doing on gas mileage.

Now come two professors from Duke University who say that may not be the accurate way to determine how efficient your car really is.

Image source: Wikipedia

There’s been talk about the VW 1L concept for years. Since VW built the original, fuel economy, safety, price, and release date has been speculated upon and argued about, and I’d finally stopped thinking it was ever going to happen. However, according to VW’s CEO, it should hit the market in 2010.

The VW 1L is so named because, in theory, it only consumes one liter of fuel per 100 kilometers traveled. For those of us in the US, this translates into about 235 MPG. Definitely far and above anything on the market currently. The concept, developed in 2002, actually got better fuel economy, scoring a sweet .89L/100km in VW testing. It’s likely to use more fuel in real world use, but with that kind of mileage in testing it’s unlikely that anyone would complain about an “unsatisfactory 200 MPG.”

The thing is, that kinda of fuel economy comes at the price of riding in an extremely small two seater, with the two seats being one in front of the other, a la jet plane, rather than a standard side by side. The 1L also looks frighteningly close to the ground, which is part of how it pulls off a drag coefficient of .159, much better than any current production vehicle. While the final design isn’t done, VW will probably power the car with a 1 cyclinder diesel engine of displacement lower the .5 L, meaning the car’s speed will top out at 120 km/h.

The other obvious issue is the one I’m sure you’re all wondering about too. How safe is this thing? While I’m not usually one to complain about small cars, the 1L is extremely light and low to the ground. If it were released in the US I could easily see it being run over by any old F150 or Hummer. Nothing is out right now about safety, but as the production date nears, I’m sure VW will be doing lots of testing to reassure the public.

2010 isn’t that far off, in fact, it’s about the same time the Volt is supposed to be hitting the streets, so you’ll likely hear a lot more good and bad about this car in the coming months.

Posts Related to VW’s 1L and other Green Car Technology:

• The World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car: 285 MPG, Not A Hybrid
• A Biodiesel Prius? VW To Release 69.9 MPG Diesel Hybrid
• The Sporty Future of Electrics Cars: the Lightning GT
• The Cleanest Cars on Earth: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs)
• Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)
• Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
• Mercedes 40-MPG Diesel Hybrid: Cleanest SUV on the Planet
• Tesla’s First Electric Vehicle, 2008 Roadster, Now Under Production

Source: Motorauthority

The Sierra Club will show you with the MPG Calculator. Choose the make and model of your car, how many miles you drive per year and the average cost you pay for gas at the pump.

For example, I entered Volkswagen Jetta at 12,500 miles per year at $3/gallon. Click on the "I Want My MPG!" button and here's the results:

If fuel economy standards were modernized, I would
Use 182 fewer gallons of gas a year
Save $545 at the pump annualy
Reduce CO2 emissions by 5,083 pounds

You've probably heard it before: check your tire pressure! Do you do it? How often? Properly inflated tires improve your gas mileage (conversely, if they are not inflated well, it reduces your mpg). You'll also reduce the wear and tear on your tires, helping them last longer. Oh, and did we mention it's safer, as well?

First things first, you'll need a tire gauge. If you don't have one, they cost less than $2 at the auto parts store. Pick one up and store it in your glove compartment (strange name, seeing as we never store our gloves there).