EDITORIAL
I
n other parts of the car industry, we’ ve seen the revival of old tech, but redesigned, repackaged and rebranded with a new, more efficient image. We’ ve seen drum brakes become popular again, because electric cars using battery regeneration use their brakes less and enclosed drums aren ' t as susceptible to weathering. Automatic gearboxes, which we thought dual-clutch transmissions would make obsolete, are now ubiquitous. Audi has even flirted with the idea of using rotary dampers, but unlike the ones you might find on an old truck, its eROT shocks are hooked up to the car’ s electrical systems to harvest kinetic energy to charge a battery.
We haven ' t really seen any traditional technology reinvigorated for new engines, though. I can’ t see the carburettor ever making a comeback, but perhaps there are antiquated dormant technologies ready for a new life.
Could it be that engineers find a use for an old-style pre-combustion chamber in a diesel engine, where it recycles gases or captures unburnt diesel? It seems unlikely when direct injection is so much more logical.
Maybe Porsche will find benefits in true simplicity and rid its engines of as many power-sapping, fuel-inefficient auxiliary components as possible and revert to air-cooled engines again. Only if it finds a miracle way to move vast volumes of air with a small amount of energy, I guess. The company still flies in the face of modern trends with its 9000rpm naturally aspirated 911 GT3 engine, so strange things do happen. Will Beaumont
SUMMER 2026 THEENGINEREBUILDER. COM
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