8 cylinder protege?
 

It is an obvious mistake, and it also could be true. I found this looking on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eb...599680&r=0&t=0

The picture on the right, has the car's spec under it. It is says it has 8 cylinders. I think it is pretty funny :)

Actually, it might as well be an Inline-8, or Flat-8. We can only wonder. But it would be nice to see a 1.6L 8-cylinder any time.

Bah...why even bother with a V8, when speed can be had so many other ways.

Lotus Elise. 4 cylinder naturally aspirated, 14 second quarter mile, 0-60 5.0 seconds. 35 miles per gallon :D

Better yet, stick a turbocharged flat 4 or 6 in it, lose some weight, and THAT would be awesome!

Yeah, flat engines are definately more compact than any other engine (except Wankel). I would love to see a Flat-6 in the WRX. The car is already mad fast with flat-4 and turbo, but flat six and turbo would be really nice.

Actually flat engines are far from compact. That's why car makers put cylinders in a V configuration. I just sold a Porsche 914 last fall that originally had the flat 4 in it. I had a small block Chevy V-8 in it that was narrower, easier to work on and was WAY more fun to drive (400 HP/410 lb/ft torque). I still have the flat 4 on a pallet in the shop. It's huge for a 4 cylinder. I realize that it's air cooled, but I've worked on a bunch of Subarus and the 4's are pretty good size. The XT-6 motor is huge.

I see where you are coming from. V-type engine are really easy to work on and they are narrower. Though I meant compact in a way that there is a lot of space left above the engine, and the center of gravity for the car is low as well. Even though I do not know any manufacturer that actually left any space around a flat engine to work with, but it is an interesting concept.

And that's why boxer engines are still used. The center of gravity is indeed lower. I used to get a kick out of the way Subaru used to put the spare tire over the engine in the older stuff. The boxer engine is also easier to balance due to the reciprocating mass of the pistons and rods being opposite each other. Porsche is still the master of the opposed engine for automobiles though.

The aircraft industry has used air cooled opposed engines for a long time now. They are simple, easy to work on with the cowl removed and cost less than liquid cooled engines. Some have some really decent power numbers when you get into the big 6 cylinders with turbos. 300-360 HP for the higher end models.