W-12, W-8, W-4?

[Mike Arman]

I looked with great interest at the cutaways of the W-12 engine. Some
*very* clever engineering and some *very* complicated casting and
machinework allows Audi to get 12 cylinders in a space not much longer than
what would usually be required for a three cylinder engine. It is also very
light for the displacement, since the ratio of parts that move to parts
that don't move is very good.

I gather that this engine is a "modular design", and could be stretched to
be an 8 liter W-16 (wahoo!), and I think I read somewhere that it could be
shrunk to be a  four liter W-8 or even a two liter W-4. This would result
in a very short engine for its' displacement, at the penalty of some extra
width (which isn't really a problem, because a car generally needs to be
two people wide anyway).

Any word if this W-8 is going into VW products? I'd just love to take a
four liter W-8 out of a wrecked 2003 Jetta at the pick and pull (any engine
in the yard only $159!), and then see if I can adapt it for aircraft
applications!

Best Regards,

Mike Arman