We have had the same conventional internal-combustion engine for over 100 years, and it hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years. Up until this point, the increases we’ve managed to achieve in fuel economy within a conventional gasoline or diesel engine have come from one of two sources:

1. Computer-controlled fuel-injection, which allows a computer inside the vehicle to adjust the amount of fuel delivered to the engine, and;
2. Engine cylinder deactivation technology, which disables certain cylinders from firing inside an engine during highway cruising.

But these changes have only poorly masked the symptoms of fuel consumption by providing small fuel economy gains instead of solving the overall problem. If we want to truly increase fuel economy, we must abandon the conventional engine altogether and create a new platform. Hybrid and electric vehicles are an example of this, where excellent fuel economy may be achieved by using nothing but electricity to power a vehicle, or by combining fuel and electricity to dramatically reduce fuel consumption.

However, the Hefley Engine is an entirely new animal that consumes nothing but petrol-products like a conventional engine, yet it is capable of achieving better-than-hybrid fuel economy. This is due to its variable displacement technology that actually adjusts the internal size of the engine to match the ever-changing needs of the driver. An engine with a large internal size consumes more air and fuel, producing more power. An engine with a smaller internal size consumes less air and fuel, producing less power but greater fuel economy. When power is needed, the Hefley Engine increases its internal size – increasing power output. As the driver lets off the throttle and heads toward a more constant speed, the internal size of the Hefley Engine shrinks – increasing fuel economy. These changes happen so quickly, they are virtually unnoticeable to the driver. Hefley introduced this technology a few years ago with its first engine, the Hefley X1 – but now it has released an improved version called the Hefley X2.

The Hefley X2 Engine contains all of the same features as the original X1, except that it is also capable of changing compression ratios. This means that the X2 may adjust itself instantly to operate on any fuel available, from gasoline and diesel to natural gas and ethanol. Furthermore, the X2 could draw from multiple tanks – for example, when the driver mashes the gas, the X2 could engage a lower compression ratio and suck gasoline from one tank to provide the necessary “oomph” for quick acceleration, then switch to a high compression ratio and sip diesel from a separate tank when the driver returns to a sustainable throttle position.

What does this mean for us consumers? An engine that can instantly adapt fuel consumption directly to your driving style, to provide you with over 50mpg of fuel economy without having to use alternative power sources. Granted, the only solution to stopping price-gouging at the pump and the raping of our natural resources is to create technology that doesn’t use these fuels at all, but the Hefley Engine definitely has the capability to save us consumers some cash while reducing the rate at which we are depleting the environment.

Don’t believe it? See it in action for yourself.

About the Author: Todd Patterson is a 27 year-old computer programmer and vehicle enthusiast living in British Columbia, Canada. He owns an extremely fast 1996 Firebird Formula, which he built with the assistance of his long-time friend and mechanic, William Wygant. See Todd’s Firebird Formula in action on his street racing website, DigStreetRacing.com!

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