Cadillac V16 engine
| Cadillac Series 452 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Cadillac |
| Production | 1930-1937 |
| Combustion chamber | |
| Configuration | 45° V-16 with 5-bearing crankshaft |
| Displacement | 452 cu in (7,410 cc) |
| Cylinder bore | 3 in (76 mm) |
| Piston stroke | 4 in (100 mm) |
| Valvetrain | OHV |
| Compression ratio | 5.3:1 |
| Combustion | |
| Fuel system | 2 single barrel carburetors |
| Fuel type | gasoline |
| Oil system | wet sump |
| Cooling system | water cooled |
| Output | |
| Power output | 165 hp (123 kW) between 3200 and 3400 rpm (1930) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Cadillac Series 90 |
The Cadillac V16 engine was a type of automobile engine produced in the 1930s.
Cadillac produced two of only three production, gasoline-fueled V16 engine models in history. Both were used in the Cadillac V-16 automobile, the first from 1930 until 1937, and the second between 1938 and 1940. The company has twice attempted to build a new V16 engine, once in the 1980s and again in 2003, but these have yet to be put into production.
The only other 16-cylinder automotive engines ever attempted were Bugatti's 1915 U16, Marmon's V16, and Cizeta-Moroder's V16 (actually 2xV8). A modern, quad-turbocharged W16 engine was used in the EB 16/4 Veyron built by the new Volkswagen-owned Bugatti in the 2000s.
With its chief competitor, Packard, already having sold a V12 engine against Cadillac's eight-cylinder cars, work began late in the 1920s under Hemmings to produce a car of real impact. Lawrence Fisher, Cadillac General Manager, leaked to the press that the company would also build a V12, hoping to keep the real engine secret.
The original Cadillac V16 could be said to be two straight-8 engines on a common crankshaft and crankcase, because each bank operated entirely independently of the other with no other shared components. It sported a narrow 45° bank angle for use in the new Cadillac chassis (which became the Fleetwood). The engine was well engineered, with a counterweighted crankshaft (quite a mathematical challenge at the time), overhead valves, and hydraulic tappets. It also had only two single barrel carburetors, one for each bank.
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