A W18 engine is an eighteen-cylinder
piston engine
A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more Reciprocating motion, reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a Circular motion, rotating motion. This article ...
with three banks of six cylinders in a
W configuration.
The W18 layout is rarely used, with the only production examples being several aircraft during the 1920s and 1930s. Prototype W18 engines were produced for concept cars predecessors to the Bugatti Veyron in the late 1990s.
Aircraft usage
The first example was the German
Mercedes D.VI aeroengine, which were built since 1915.
A later example is the 1929
Hispano-Suiza 18R, an aircraft racing engine produced in limited quantities in France. This was followed in 1934 by the
Isotta Fraschini Asso 750, which was built in Italy and used in several flying boats. The Asso 750 was water-cooled and used an angle of 60 degrees between banks. The 1943 Tatra T955 was a prototype diesel aircraft engine which used a W18 layout.
Automotive usage
The W18 layout has been considered for use in motor vehicles by two manufacturers, although neither reached production. In 1967,
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...
built a prototype
W3 engine
A W engine is a type of piston engine where three or four cylinder (engine), cylinder banks share the same crankshaft, resembling the letter "W" when viewed from the front.
W engines with three banks of cylinders are also called "broad arrow" en ...
as a feasibility study for a W18 engine to use in Formula One.
In the late 1990s, the
Bugatti EB 118,
Bugatti EB 218,
Bugatti 18/3 Chiron and
Bugatti EB 18/4 Veyron concept cars were fitted with W18 engines,
prior to the production version of the Bugatti Veyron using a
W16 engine instead.
Marine usage
The W18 layout has been used on the high seas
CRM Motori SpA marine engines
References
{{Piston engine configurations
Piston engine configurations
18