PpigScience: horse power

Rolls-Royce is inching closer to having a production-ready UltraFan engine(Credit: Rolls-Royce Aerospace)

A successful test has seen Rolls-Royce claim the world record for the world's most powerful aerospace gearbox with its Power Gearbox. The unit is capable of handling the power from around 400 regular family cars running at full throttle and will form a key part of Rolls-Royce's next-generation UltraFan engine, allowing it to operate efficiently through the full range of thrusts.
The Power Gearbox was first tested last year, but power wasn't the focus. Engineers used the Rolls-Royce Attitude Rig to simulate climbing, descending and banking, and find out how each maneuver affected the oil system.
The latest tests were more rigorous. Paul Stein, CTO at Rolls-Royce, used a speech at the International Society for Air Breathing Engines (ISABE) to announce 70,000 hp (52,199 kW) had successfully been run through the 'box at the company's German facility. It will eventually channel 100,000 hp (74,570 kW), at which point Rolls-Royce says each pair of teeth on the gearbox will be transmitting more power than the entire F1 grid.

Why? Well, fitting bigger fans to aircraft engines delivers more power, but it also necessitates the fitment of bigger turbines – and there comes a point where turbines would need to be prohibitively large for any meaningful power gain. UltraFan is designed to avoid this problem, using the (planetary) Power Gearbox to keep the turbine and fans spinning at the ideal speed throughout a flight for more power and better efficiency.
"Setting this record is a great achievement for the team and I'm proud we've managed to get there so quickly," says Paul Stein, CTO at Rolls-Royce. "Our Power Gearbox technology is central to the success of the next generation of Rolls-Royce jet engines and I'm pleased to see us pushing back engineering boundaries with this work."
When it arrives in 2025, the UltraFan engine is expected to be around 25 percent more efficient than current-generation Rolls-Royce Trent engines.

Source: Rolls-Royce Aerospace,NewAtlas

The Williams and Singer 4.0-liter flat six

Singer Vehicle Design has made a name with its lovingly conceived, elegantly executed Porsche 911 restorations in recent years. What started as a passion project has morphed into one of the most exciting operations in the motoring world – and now, it's teaming up with Williams Advanced Engineering and legendary engineer Hans Mezger to create the ultimate air-cooled 911 engine.You might have heard Porsche fans speak about the Mezger engine with a certain degree of reverence. It refers to the water-cooled six that started off in Le Mans GT1 Prototypes from the early-1990s, before being developed and adapted for life in road-going 911 GT3 cars. Its reign came to an end in the 911 GT3 RS 4.0. Mezger has his fingerprints all over the flat six that debuted in the 1963 911, and he developed the flat-12 from the 917. As pedigree goes, his is a very good one.
The new Singer Vehicle Design engine will be a naturally aspirated, air-cooled flat-six with a 4.0L capacity. It will have four valves per cylinder and four camshafts, making a whopping 500 hp (373 kW) of power. The engine will be fitted to a 1990 911 owned by Scott Blattner, a long-time client of the company.

The finished product will have new cylinders and pistons with titanium con-rods, and its aluminum throttle bodies are paired with carbon fiber trumpets. Carbon fiber has also been used for the air-box, which has been tuned to deliver strong mid-range torque. Don't think this is all about low-down twist, though – redline should be somewhere north of that magical 9,000 rpm mark.
Lightweight materials like titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber have been applied lavishly in the new engine, which breathes through an Inconel and titanium exhaust. The initial list of upgrades is substantial, but expect to see even more when the car is completely finished. Suffice to say, it should be something seriously special.
"Helping our clients realize their unique vision for a reimagined Porsche 911 with the help of automotive royalty is very much a privilege," says Rob Dickinson, founder of Singer. "Singer is delighted to be working with Williams Advanced Engineering and Hans Mezger to offer our clients a 'next level' of restoration and modification services for their Porsche 911s. With careful and dedicated development, this iconic air-cooled engine has much to give both its existing devotees and a generation of new enthusiasts."
Each Singer is designed and developed for an individual owner. Check out our gallery for a look at some of these stunning re-imagined 911s.

Source: Singer Vehicle Design, NewAtlas