2500hp street car... what will they think of next?

I was reading an article on MotorTrend the other day that I thought was worthy of commentary. The original article can be found here:http://wot.motortrend.com/6540260/tuners/550-hp-mosler-too-weak-try-iads-2500-hp-twin-turbo-land-shark/index.html

The article details a 'tuner' version of the Mosler supercar, the MT900S, which comes from the factory with 550bhp, and super-car-worthy stats. The 'tuner' version, of course, changes all that. The 'stock' engine is pulled, and replaced with a 2500bhp twin-turbo monster, based on an innovative concept (more on that in a bit). The pricetag for this carbon-fiber monstrosity ensures that I'll never own one, but we can all dream, right?

The innovation behind the 'Land Shark' twin-turbo version of the MT900S is something that I discussed with a very intelligent engineer that I've known for roughly 26 years, my father. We started discussing the possibility of a 'full-roller' internal-combustion engine back in the early '90s, when I was about 10 years old. My father's original intent was to start with either a 428SCJ or a Corvette 427, and build from there. I had him convinced, at one point, to try this with either a 5.6L Mercedes engine (M119) or a Ford OHC motor (4.6/5.4 Modular motor), but apparently we've been beaten to the punch by the folks at IAD (Intense Auto Design), who used a GM LSx-series engine as a starting point. Kudos to IAD for doing it, but my father and I still think that they're not using the technology to it's fullest potential. A 'full-roller' motor, i.e. if roller-type bearings (instead of the more typical bushing setup) are used throughout the engine, several things would happen, all stemming from the fact that the RPM limit for such a motor would easily be in the 20-30,000rpm range under load. The valvetrain on this hypothetical motor would either have to have an unholy stress-rating (high seat-pressure, extremely durable components, etc), or a completely new technology would have to be devised to actuate the valves, due to the fact that the motor (and thus the valve events) is spinning at 3 to 5 times the maximum RPM of a 'typical' V-8. We felt that the reduced valvetrain mass of an Overhead Cam (OHC) arrangement would alleviate some of that, but my father and I have been tossing around other ideas as well (which I'm not going to go into specifics until they are patented). In short, he and I saw this 'proof-of-concept' engine, and our interest is renewed in making 'our' engine a reality.

Food for thought!

Until Next Time!