Formula One to go with 1.6-liter inline-four Turbo Charged Engine

The votes are in and it’s time to bid adieu to the high-revving V8’s on the Formula One grid by 2013 as the top dogs have voted in a new turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder design to replace the current crop of V8’s by 2013.

Furthermore, the number of cylinders and displacement isn’t the only thing being cut down, the maximum engine speed will also be reduced from the current 18,000rpm to 12,000rpm. All in all, the changes will supposedly see a 35 per cent reduction in fuel consumption while maintaining similar power figures.


No solid numbers are available yet, but news from the grapevine is that the engines will use high-pressure gasoline injectors capable of shooting fuel into the combustion chambers at 500-bars of pressure, pretty much making atomization the word of the day.

Once again, the F1 committee has also voted to limit the number of engines a team can use for the season. Currently, a team can have eight engines for use throughout the season. The new rules will see that number slashed down to five by 2013 and then to four in coming seasons.