Lotus gets its ‘Omnivore’ ready for Geneva

Lotus is looking to reduce emissions by going the alternative-fuel way, or precisely, the flex-fuel way. A step in that general direction, Lotus is working on the Omnivore engine concept. Staying true to its name, the engine can burn alcohol based fuels or gasoline.

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For greater efficiency in operation, the concept does away with cylinder head gaskets and poppet valves. While these changes lead to lower weight, higher durability and greater thermodynamic efficiency, a pragmatic deployment of the system is difficult. To counter this problem, the Omnivore uses a two-stroke combustion cycle in lieu of the four-stroke cycle. In addition, using a two-stroke cycle also has a positive effect on the engine’s efficiency.

Via: WCF

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