The types of engines you'll learn about in this section include diesel, rotary, HEMI, stirling and quasiturbine, to name a few. You'll also see photos and animated images of the technologies we explore.
The quasiturbine engine takes the Wankel concept and improves on it: Instead of three combustion chambers it has four and the setup of a quasiturbine allows for continual combustion. Learn all about the quasiturbine. See more »
While diesel earned itself a bad reputation for spewing soot in the early days, improvements have made it much cleaner. Test your knowledge of all things diesel with this quiz.
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It's under the hood of every car, truck and SUV, but how many people really know how one works? Do you know a spark plug from a fuel injector? Test your knowledge in our Engine Quiz.
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It's the reason you can put the pedal to the metal and go from zero to 60 in seconds. But to the uninitiated, an engine can look like a jumble of metal and wires.
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Ever wonder what the difference is between a gasoline engine and a diesel engine? Diesels are more efficient and cheaper to run than gasoline engines. Learn what makes diesel engines different!
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Take diesel-engine technology, throw in a two-stroke cycle, and you've got the basis for the huge engines found in trains and big ships. Learn about the diesel two-stroke engine!
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You may think your dreams of fuel economy can be fulfilled only by a car with a diesel engine, but direct injection engines offer another option for high efficiency and performance. How do they differ from standard gas engines?
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Even if you don't know much about cars, the word "HEMI" might still mean something to you. It's become a synonym for big, powerful engines.
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It's possible that someday there may be no need for a lot of the components that you currently find under the hood of a car or truck. That is, if the vehicle is equipped with in-wheel electric motors.
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The quasiturbine engine takes the Wankel concept and improves on it: Instead of three combustion chambers it has four and the setup of a quasiturbine allows for continual combustion. Learn all about the quasiturbine.
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A rotary engine is an internal combustion engine, but it's not like the one in most cars. Learn about the unique rotary setup and how it compares performance-wise to a piston engine.
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The Stirling engine is a heat engine that is vastly different from the internal-combustion engine in your car. It has the potential to be more efficient than most types of engines, but it hasn't made it into mass production yet. Find out why.
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High gas prices are driving people to look at alternatives to fossil fuels, such as a turbine designed by the father of alternating current, Nikola Tesla.
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Diesel powered Humvees are capable of running in "extreme" conditions, and these conditions can include deep submersion during river fording. Is it only possible to go underwater with a diesel powered vehicle?
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The Chevy 265-cid V-8 was a performance favorite for two generations. It was considered a benchmark engine design for its days. Learn about the history and specs of this marvelous engine.
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The 283 Chevy V-8 has become one of Chevy's most revered engines -- the definitive small-block enshrined by a generation of car enthusiasts who followed. Learn more about the fuel-injected small-block Chevy V-8 that powered the Corvette.
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Dubbed "Turbo-Thrust," the 348 Chevy V-8 was the largest and most powerful Chevrolet engine you could buy in 1958-61. These powered some of the most memorable of the "performance" Chevys.
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After doing surprisingly well in a 500-mile race at the Daytona International Speedway, the 396 Chevy V-8 was created as a high-performance option for the Chevelle and Corvette. Learn more about one of Chevy's milestone performance engines.
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The high-revving 409 Chevy V-8 was a favorite of racers and hot rodders. Its most glamorous home was in the lmpala Super Sport. The 409 was the standard-bearer in full-size Chevys until 1965. Learn more about it.
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Available for the Corvette and full-size Chevrolet in 1967, the 427 Chevy V-8 superseded the 396 with its aluminum cylinder heads with enlarged ports, hotter crankshaft, and bigger carburetor. Learn about one of Chevy's milestone performance engines.
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Chevy engineers had to bend some of their rules to get as much power out of the Chevy 454-cid V-8. America's "fuel shock" would ultimately sentence big-inch high-performance cars to oblivion. Learn about one of Chevy's milestone performance engines.
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