Massive Engines

WILL:
Has anyone noticed that horsepower and torque are getting out of control lately?


- consider the 1988 bmw e30 m3. it was the top of the line 3 series, had a racecar-derived engine, and made 195hp and 170 ft-lb of torque. now consider the 2008 bmw 128i, the 'base' 1 series. it makes 230hp and 200 ft-lb of torque!


- next, consider the (US) 1996 bmw e36 m3. it was a pretty badass car and made 240hp and 225 ft-lb of torque. the 2008 honda accord v6 makes 271hp and 254 ft-lb of torque!



yes, horsepower and torque are getting quite out of control. mercedes even has to detune its SL63 AMG because it makes TOO much torque for the transmission.

despite all this, these engines pale in comparison to truck engines!!
check out this link:
http://ohe.cat.com/cda/files/176406/7/LEDT3136-01.pdf

even the "smallest" engine is 10.8L and makes 500hp and 1550 ft-lb of TORQUE!


then again, it also takes 39 quarts of oil (8 gallons)! and... it weighs 2200 lbs. that's more than my car weighs.


this thing is GIGANTIC, some might even say... macedonic. passenger car engines, in comparison, are... so small..... so small..... (yes, that was a lame south park reference)


imagine a 12L engine. For an inline 6, each cylinder is 2L! that's like a Pepsi 2L bottle in each cylinder! i guess these wouldn't be much fun to drive though, but it's still pretty crazy to think about what's out there. I am sure that there are even bigger engines!