New engine excites many in auto industry

By Bradley A. Stertz / News Washington Bureau Chief

    WASHINGTON -- Bombing around in a 40-foot motor home between outposts such as Fond-du-Lac, Wis., and Waukegan, Ill., Murray Bailey and his wife of 26 years seem more like accidental tourists than the vanguard of tomorrow's engine technology.
    "You take planes and never get to understand this country," the Australian shouts over the din of CB chatter in Arkansas. "Some of the things you see are pretty amazing."
    None less so than the early reaction kicked up by the Baileys' cargo -- an unusual little eight-cylinder engine built at the kitchen table of a self-trained mechanic from Australia.
    Only three prototypes of the OX2 engine exist in the world. The demonstrator model the Baileys have carried around the country since early March works kind of like a revolving pistol to cut back emissions, and purportedly has as much muscle as a traditional V-8 engine twice its weight.
    THe OX2 tips the scale at 140 pounds and has just 66.25 cubic inches of displacement. Engineers who have seen it in demonstrations are impressed that the OX2 doesn't use camshafts, distributors or oil pumps, and needs just a cup of oil to run.
    The company developing the OX2 hasn't sold one copy and isn't sure if it is best suited for the next generation of lawn mowers, boats, automobiles or tanks.
    But that hasn't bottled up enthusiasm stoked by equal parts shrewd marketing, promising expert reports and worldwide pressure to make vehicles, lawn equipment and water craft that are powerful, cleaner and far more efficient.
    Nowhere is the speculation more heated than on Wall Street. One share of the company headed by Bailey that is developing the OX2 -- Advanced Engine Technologies Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M. -- sold for $1.50 at year-end 1997 in over-the-counter trading. At the close of business Friday, the stock sold for $14 a share. By the end of the day Tuesday, it ran up to $26.75.
    Part of the enthusiasm has followed a two-hour demonstration at the Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command center in Warren. While engineers there withheld final judgment until more tests are run, some were intrigued by the OX2's technology.
    "The main thing that caught my attention was that it is an extremely clever design," says Herb Dobbs, a mechanical engineer at the Tank Command's research and development center. "This one holds the attention, even if it's too early to declare it will be successful."
    Not that Advanced Engine Technologies is in a hurry to overhype its product. Later this month, Bailey and others in the company are taking one prototype for thorough testing at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Other tests will follow at other university research labs. No orders or licenses will be written, the company says, until the tests prove the technology works.
    Meantime, Bailey is lining up an impressive array of automotive legends to lend their advice -- and their contacts. Advanced Engine Technologies just signed a joint venture agreement with Carroll Shelby, whose Shelby Cobras from the 1960s still rank among the most sought-after sports cars in the world.
    "If the performance figures are correct, the OX2 engine is the most significant advancement in combustion engine technology I have seen in my life time," Shelby says. "I've seen lots of new engines cross my path only to find they wouldn't work or were really invented in the 1890s."
    Others involved in promoting the engine include motorcycle racing champion Eddie Lawson, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison and boat racing champion Bob Teaque.
    Part of the go-slow approach planned for the OX2 is a reflection of past flops. The auto industry is littered with little engines that promised they could, only to fall well short.
    And while companies such as Caterpillar Inc. have expressed interest in the OX2's potential, backers of the engine are leery of promising too much for now.
    "At this stage, it's easy for a lot of people to say we've seen hundreds of these ideas before," Bailey says.
   
   Engine breakthrough?
    Advanced Engines Technologies Inc. says it has developed a new internal combusion engine design, dubbed th OX2, that it says produces more horsepower and fewer emissions than conventional Otto cycle and Wankel rotary engines. one key feature of the OX2 is that it has only four moving parts, vs. 67moving parts for a typical V-8 engine.
   
   How they work:
   * OX2 engine: The cylilnder block, drive shaaft and pistson plates rotate inside the engine housing. Lobes on the cam plate push the pistons into the cylindr bores, while igniting the air/fuel mixtures drives the pistons back out and pushes the piston plate rollers along the cam plate track to keep the engine turning. The ngine housing contains two spark plugs, two intake ports and two exhaust ports. Each cylinder fires twice during each revolution.
   * Four-stroke Otto engine: Pistons travel up and down in the engine block and are connected to a crankshaft to convert the vertical motion into rotary motion. Each cylinder fires once every two revolutions of the crankshaft. Air and fuel enter the cylinder via ports in the cylinder heads.
   * Rotary engine: A rotary engine has no pistons. instead, a triangular shaped rotar spins inside the engine casing. The points of the rotor contact the walls of the housing to create chambers for intake/compression; ignition/power strike and exhaust. Each full revolution of the rotor results in three complete combustion cycles. Rotary engines are compact with high power output, but also are less fuel efficient and produce high levels of hydrocarbons.
    Source: Advanced Engine Technologies, Inc.