Mercedes-AMG has managed to refine its Formula One engine to the point where it achieves thermal efficiency of over 50 per cent during dyno testing.
The company’s engine has been competing in F1 since 2014 and like all others in the field, is a 1.6-liter V6 turbocharged unit. It has proven to be the most powerful and most reliable in the sport and is now the most efficient of them all.
The thermal efficiency of an internal combustion engine is determined by calculating how much energy the engine can extract from fuel. Typically, ICEs only turn about 20 per cent of petrol’s energy into useable power. Some diesels can exceed over 40 per cent.
Put even more simply, the new Mercedes engine now produces more power than waste energy.
It is important to note that Mercedes achieved its thermal efficiency figure on an engine dyno, not on a racetrack or the road. Nevertheless, it is a serious achievement in the history of the internal combustion engine.