Defined Autoworks 4-Rotor Engine

Defined Autoworks 4-Rotor via NoPistons.comAs far as I know, Defined Autoworks is the first shop to build a 4-rotor Mazda rotary engine here in the US. They machine their own 4-piece eccentric shaft with 5 main bearings that allows the engine to spin up to 12,000 rpm. An Electromotive engine management computer controls four 2,200 cc injectors. Electromotive also supplies the two ignition computers that control the 12 coils of the triple spark plug ignition system. The video documents the assembly of the engine along with some shots of the sliding plate throttle bodies and variable length intake runners. Dyno tuning will come later with an eventual goal of 800 horsepower to the wheels.


Source: Defined Autoworks on YouTube via EngineLabs.com

TCI Engineering’s 1935-1940 Ford Chassis

The folks over at Rod Authority are starting up a 1936 Ford 5-window project car. This is footage that they took at Total Cost Involved Engineering as the artisans there assembled the performance chassis that will be the foundation of their new project. Who says quality craftsmanship in America is dead? Head over to the Project Flat Out page to keep up with the build.


Source: TCI Engineering on YouTube

The Chip Yates Story

Chip Yates is a bit of a rock star in the world of electric vehicles. He started out as an engineer for McLaren Automotive before becoming a professional motorcycle racer at the World Superbike level at the age of 36. A broken pelvis sustained in a crash brought an end to his racing career and into the field of electric vehicles. Chip gathered some of his friends and spent his savings building a motorcycle for a new electric racing series forming in California. His new bike proved so fast that it was banned from the series before it even started. Undaunted, Yates entered the bike in a race against traditional gas combustion powered motorcycles where he nabbed two podium finishes. Chip continued to push the boundaries of electric motorcycle performance with a land speed record at Bonneville and a record for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Check out this interview that Chip did with Motor Trend where he tells the stories of his start and success in the electric vehicle world. There’s even footage from the electric airplane he built by putting the UQM motor from his electric motorcycle in an old Burt Rutan VariEze home-built kit plane. He burned up his battery pack setting the world speed record for electric airplanes before having to make an emergency landing.


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube