Ferrari patents a new engine cylinder shape

Ferrari’s latest engine design is a V12 featuring unusual oval cylinders instead of round.

According to the engineering team, the company’s next supercar is part-electric and needs to use the engine bay space as efficiently as possible. By making cylinders elliptical in shape, the block can be squeezed in a smaller frame.

This isn’t an entirely new development. Back in the 1970s, Honda experimented around with oval pistons and even put them into a prototype V4 engine for its NR500 racing bike. However, the design didn’t excel at pre-production tests and was ultimately scrapped.