Aston Martin Valkyrie Claims World’s Most Powerful Engine Title

At least for engines not aided by one of those newfangled turbochargers

While turbocharging has boosted power and torque outputs to new levels, naturally aspirated engines can still be found at the core of some of the very best supercars on the roads today. Their instantaneous power delivery and ability to deliver a knock-out blow at very high revs makes them the purists choice.

If all goes to plan, the Aston Martin Valkyrie will arrive later this year and when it does it will have the most powerful naturally aspirated engine ever fitted to a road car. Cosworth announced on Tuesday that its 6.5-liter V12 will make a massive 1,130hp, around 10% more than the 1,000hp that was hinted at during development. The amount of power assistance provided by the hybrid battery system has not been revealed just yet though.

Cars like the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, Porsche 911 GT3 and Ferrari GTC4 Lusso all have high-revving atmospheric engines that deliver massive performance without the aid of forced induction. In recent years, the title of most powerful production atmospheric engine has been ping-ponging between Ferrari and Lamborghini with the 789-hp 6.5-liter V12 in the 812 Superfast currently claiming the crown.

A fairer comparison though would be with hypercars like the 950-hp LaFerrari and 887-hp Porsche 918 Spyder, which both make use of hybrid assistance to boost their outputs but even these cars will be put into the shade when the Valkyrie arrives.

This Aston’s output also eclipses all but the most powerful turbocharged super and hypercars. Aside from very limited production vehicles such as the hybrid Koenigsegg Regera, the 1,479-hp Chiron and its predecessor, the 1,184hp Veyron Super Sports, are the only rivals that produce more power.

And they need four turbos and an 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine to do it. Perhaps the days of the naturally aspirated engine are not as numbered as everyone thought, especially when combined with some even more newfangled hybrid assistance. Of the 175 examples slated for production (which includes the track-focused AMR variants) exactly 0 are still available to buy, so this tech makes it into a few more modern hypercars.

View the original article here

Forget Dieselgate: Volkswagen Beat Toyota As World's Largest Automaker

Diesel is dead, at least for VW.

The Dieselgate scandal that plagued Volkswagen not so long ago is now nearly a thing of the past. According to Reuters and Bild am Sonntag, the German automotive giant achieved a combined group sales of around 10.7 million cars last year. Thanks to its Audi and Porsche luxury brands, total revenue is expected to surpass 220 billion euros ($264 billion). Even 2016’s revenue wasn’t too shabby with 217 billion earned. That year’s revenue is significant because 2016 was the first full year post-Dieselgate.

You know, that whole emissions test cheating thing that forced VW to pay out a $14.7 billion settlement in the US alone. The automaker was also forced to buy back diesel-powered vehicles for customers who were deceived into buying them. But thanks to new leadership in both Europe and the US, Volkswagen has literally become a new company. Diesel is nearly gone and electric mobility is in. While these technological advances are taking place, VW Group brands have consistently launched new and relevant product that, evidently, people across the world are happily buying. What’s pretty amazing about VW’s stellar 2017 is that it beat Toyota, the largest auto company in the world for 2016.

The Japanese automaker sold around 10.35 million cars in 2017, which is actually up by 2 percent from the previous year. Aside from solid sales figures from Audi and Porsche especially, what else contributed to Volkswagen’s great year? China. Last year saw a double-digit increase in China as well as gains in Europe. Yep. Dieselgate is now officially a mere memory.