Toronto, Ontario — Ferrari, the Italian luxury sports automotive manufacturer, recently applied for a patent for a vehicle featuring an upside-down hydrogen powered internal combustion engine (ICE).
The patent—which was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and published on February 29th, 2024—specifically describes a vehicle with a “supercharged internal combustion engine which is provided with a plurality of cylinders.”
The patent further describes how an inline-six fueled engine would help provide room for the hydrogen tanks on either side of the vehicle.
However, what makes Ferrari’s patent particularly notable is that the automaker proposes building the engine upside down from traditional vehicle manufacturing standards.
The reason for this design is to allow the transaxle to be placed higher up on the engine so that a more aggressive diffuser can be installed on the back of the vehicle.
To make this design work properly and to avoid possible issues related to the forces of gravity, Ferrari further outlines in its patent using a pressurized dry-sump oiling system made up of three pumps connected to the engine via its camshafts. These pressurized pumps would help ensure that fuel is being properly circulated—much like a heart uses pressure to ensure proper blood flow.
As always, there is no guarantee that this patent will ever make it to a manufacturing stage.
However, the hybrid nature of the vehicle being described—which can rely on either hydrogen-based or oil-based fuel—demonstrates just one potential design for how luxury vehicles can begin shifting towards greater environmental sustainability, as according to a 2020 study by the International Council on Clean Transportation, luxury cars, on average, produce nearly three times the amount of CO2 emissions when compared to the average passenger vehicle.
The post Turbocharged Tactics: Ferrari files patent for a vehicle with an upside-down hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine appeared first on Collision Repair Magazine.
