The tendency to use alternative materials in vehicles in order to reduce costs and weight was felt in all parts of the car. But while plastics are substituting more and more body parts, one item that has not seen such a change up to now is the engine, though not for very long. The Polimotor Research Inc has been working since the 1980s to create a plastic motor, and has been rather successful.



The motor block above is made completely of phenolic resin, the same used on frying pan handles. Motors built this way can weigh up to 35% less than an aluminum one which is considered quite light. They are also very resistant: a 2.3 motor built with such material in the 1980s weighed only 70kg (against 188kg for the original one made of iron) and produced 318 hp and attained 14 thousand rotations per minute (the original motor was 88 hp).

Polimotor continues to research new plastic technologies for motors. However we are still waiting for the first motor made of polymers.