Quote:
Originally Posted by niky
Only 14 hp to hit 100 mph?
It doesn't look that aerodynamic.
But drool at the T-shaped drivetrain!
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The article states "two Austin 7hp engines [...] tuned up till they could do 5,000 rpm".
Guessing that an "Austin 7hp engine" is something the reader was expected to be familiar with, a quick web search reveals that an "Austin 7hp" was in fact the name of a car (
Austin 7 hp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), and an "Austin 7hp engine" might not have been 7hp to begin with - apparently the "Austin 7hp" was a motor car with a 1.1 litre single cylinder engine capable of "9 hp at 1300 rpm" a pair of these would make for a 2.2L capacity. Extrapolating that capacity and performance to 5,000 rpm, I dare say there was a lot more than 14hp on tap - given also that that implies some very extensive engine modifications in general. From the
engine specs this engine had a 127mm (5 inch) stroke, getting 5,000 rpm would mean a piston speed of ~21.2 m/s (69.4 fps), which is pretty durn impressive in itself for an engine of that vintage...