When you think “engine,” you probably think “power”. And when you think “power,” you probably think “big.”
We do, too, but consider tiny engines. They operate on the same principles but on a more space-efficient scale, which requires a whole different kind of engineering finesse. Tiny engines may not be as practical as their big brothers, but they’re almost always more fun. And believe us, these engines are tiny. Check them out below:
Aliaksei Zholner is terrific at making model engines. Here, he illustrates a tiny paper throttle that he can use to rev his mini V-8 up to a terrifically tiny purr. It runs on compressed air, as opposed to any form of combustible fuel, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive.
Leslie Proper enjoys model steamboats. He has posted videos of them in action, cutting through the water just like full-scale steamboats. Here, he shows off what makes them run: six tiny, functional engines. The single-cylinder, double-acting engine is especially impressive.
Sometimes the best way to make an engine tiny is to change how the thing works. Difo Productions, an Italian YouTuber, recreated a V-6 engine but decided to bypass the traditional explosions. Working with steam instead of fuel allows Difo flexibility to make alterations like using aluminum for the cylinders, crankcase, and pistons, and brass tubing for airflow. It took seven months to build, but the miniature results speak for themselves.
Ronald Valentine claims to make the smallest combustion engines, and we’d be hard-pressed to challenge that assertion. The most illustrative video of his wares is of this chance encounter with the man himself showing off his engines at a trade show. Valentine appears to take custom orders at his website, which has us thinking of staging all kinds of road races with all the heretofore static models we have displayed in our office.
Aliaksei Zholner‘s tiny engines are also made out of paper, which makes them seem both incredibly daunting to replicate but also oddly attainable. After all, you have some paper lying around, don’t you? Here, he shows off his working version of a Wankel-style rotary engine, a type we hope makes a comeback back in full scale. In the meantime, we’ll just be content watching this mini marvel in action. (And be sure to check out Zholner’s paper V-8!)
A version of this story originally appeared on Popular Mechanics.
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