Solvay to develop all-plastic engine for concept car

Chemical company Solvay (Brussels, Belgium) is developing an all-plastic automotive engine called the Polimotor 2, which will be put to the test next year when the four-cylinder, double-overhead CAM engine will be fitted in a Norma M-20 concept car to compete at the racing of Lime Rock Park, Connecticut.

Made from seven of its high-performing thermoplastic materials, the Polimotor 2 will replace up to 10 metal engine components—including the water pump, oil pump, water inlet/outlet, throttle body, fuel rail, cam sprockets and others—to demonstrate lightweighting through metal replacement.

”The Polimotor project is yet another pioneering opportunity for Solvay Specialty Polymers to bring its innovations to the forefront and to expand its lightweighting offerings," said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit. “Through this partnership we will further challenge our boundaries, showing all the more that our high performance polymers offer solutions in reducing weight, lowering fuel consumption and that they are a key contributor in diminishing CO2 emissions.”  

The first Polimotor engine was first conceived in the 1980s by U.S. engineer Matti Holtzberg.