Today in Technology History
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December 2
The first V-8 engine was patented exactly one century ago.
The work of internal combustion engines happens inside cylinders, where pistons compress an explosive mixture of air and gas. Adding pistons adds power, so in the final years of the nineteenth century engine designers made engines with more and more pistons.
Eventually, though, as the typical row of cylinders grew longer, engineers faced a new problem: their powerful new engines were becoming too long and too heavy for normal use. Also, the longer row of cylinders put more wear and tear on some parts of the engine, like the crankshaft. Clearly, if powerful internal combustion engines were to remain practical, a creative new design was needed.
This picture shows Levavasseur working on an airplane engine. Click to enlarge. That design came from a Frenchman with a background in art, Léon-Marie-Joseph-Clement Levavasseur (1863-1922). He started work on his new engine in about 1900. His engine had eight cylinders, but instead of putting them in a straight line, Levavasseur arranged them in the shape of a "V." It was a powerful and compact design, and when he received a French patent on December 2, 1902, Levavasseur became the first person to patent what we now call a V-8 engine.
Levavasseur called the motor "Antoinette" (apparently named for the daughter of a business associate). He soon became interested in aviation, and his Antoinette engine was used in several early airplanes -- including a series of airplanes which Levavasseur designed himself. These planes were also called "Antoinette," and one of them almost became the first plane to cross the English Channel.
In time, V-8 engines would also become common in cars, trucks and boats, where they are still used today.
Related links:
Coincidentally, there's an article about the history of the V-8 engine in today's Toronto Star.
Click here to read a 1906 description of Levavasseur's V-8 engine.
Click here and here to read about the pilot who used one of Levavasseur's "Antoinette" planes in an attempt to cross the English Channel.
Scroll down this page to see a picture of an "Antoinette" plane.
In about 1906, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss put a V-8 engine on a bike, hoping to break some land speed records. Click here to see a picture.
Click here to read about the inventor of the internal combustion engine, Nicolaus Otto.
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