Back in the day, engines were the exclusive domain of cast iron and steel. But, during the past decade, more lightweight materials, such as aluminum and hard thermoplastics, have been slowly creeping under the hood. The Holy Grail, an engine made almost entirely out of plastic, is finally close to reality.
A team of engineers in Florida has been developing a functional engine with plastic and carbon-fiber composite components. When it debuts this summer, the revolutionary Polimotor 2 will be 33 percent lighter than a traditional engine. It’s the brainchild of Matti Holtzberg, president of Composite Castings LLC.