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I don't know that a land speed record vehicle is really applicable to a fuel economy technology. They are building those for brutal conditionsand 10+ times the horsepower. A passenger car simply needs low NVH levels and less than one tenth the torque handling. Cold startup is irrelevant because the coolant would run through both blocks, thus heating both engines. I don't see why one ECU/ignition system couldn't handle both engines. It is still making four cylinders fire. It would just have to be a little more complicated to program. Of course it would be more complicated/expensive. So are hybrids and diesels, yet they are building plenty of those. Hybrids are also why I think this will work. They have made planetary transmissions and others (Accord hybrid, for instance, used a four speed auto) receive torque from two sources without massive losses.
Of course, when I think of what seems like a good idea, I usually refer back to this question, "If x is such a good idea, why didn't somebody smarter than me do it already?" The pessimist in me thinks that maybe it was dismissed because its image wasn't green enough. You and I both know hybrids have taken of so fast in large part due to their green image, when much of the technology in hybrids (like active radiator blocks, aero, etc.) could have been put on cars long before hybrids hit the market. But a green image wasn't as valuable to car makers then. Still, it is likely that there are other problems.
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