The V10 engine - the 'star' is about to run out

The compact engine block has a large capacity, high power and significant fuel economy but does not meet the smooth standards.

The V10 engine was first known in 1936 for a train, invented by the company Busch Sulzer and limited to just three models. The design of this engine is two 5-cylinder engines are assembled together, arranged in a V-shaped configuration around a common crankshaft.

The first gasoline-powered V10 engine was used in the Lamborghini P140 in 1987 and on the 1995 Cala concept model. In the following years, many automakers used the V10 engine because they could maximize power and weight. The amount of power and efficiency that this engine delivers, such as the Dodge Viper, Porsche Carrera GT, Lexus LFA, Volkwagen Phaeton, BMW M5 E60, Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo. However, only Audi, Lamborghini and other small brands continue to use and develop this engine block to date.

In the 2003s, Lamborghini developed an inherent V10 engine to use the Gallardo model with a capacity of 5 liters. This time Audi didn't have a V10 to use for the R8, which is why the first R8 used a V8 engine. Then Audi used V10 engine from Lamborghini and developed to 5.2 liter capacity, becoming the most special V10 engine block, which can meet many standards today.

Audi R8 currently uses V10 engine. Photo: Lamborghini

V10 is a naturally aspirated engine, has a large capacity, high speed, comes with durability and significant fuel economy. The 5.2 V10 is equipped with Dry Sump Iubrication - a racing-inspired system that minimizes the risk of lack of lubricants when operating in extreme conditions and operating revs. up to 8,700 rpm. At this speed, Audi says, each piston moves 26.91 m per second and is faster than the pistons used in Formula 1 engines today.

In addition, the dry-crank lubrication system helps the overall engine block be more compact vertically and can be placed close to the ground to help the car have a lower center of gravity. That optimizes aerodynamics for each vehicle.

Audi has also added a stratified fuel injection system (FSI - Fuel Stratified Injection) and multi-point fuel injection (MPI - MultiPoint Injection), developed for long-distance racing cars, including the 24-hour race. Of Le Mans. This technology helps the car significantly save fuel, including the new generation R8 that only consumes 13.1 liters / 100 km of mixed roads.

Although there are many advantages but many car manufacturers have now killed V10 engines. Because of the odd number of cylinders in each row, the V10 will not be as quiet as the less popular V8 and V12. Comes with that, V10 is long, heavy and bigger than 4-cylinder engine, large production cost, strict emission standards and complex structure due to the design configuration has no balance, so the shaft The balance is sometimes used to reduce the vibrations while the motor is running. Accompanying this is the trend of developing plug-in hybrid and all-electric motors.