FIA has announced that Formula 1 cars will be required to use 1.6L four-cylinder engines from 2013.
FIA claims these engines will be 35 percent more fuel efficient than the current 2.4L V8 engines, while still offering the same performance. This will be achieved using energy recovery systems, such as KERS, and “additional energy management”.
The engines will also likely be turbocharged, and FIA will allow high pressure gasoline injection of up to 500 bar. However, rev limits will be reduced from the current 18,000 rpm to 12,000 rpm.
Another engine rule change in effect from 2013 will be the number of engines each driver is able to use throughout the season without a penalty. The current number is eight, but it will be reduced to five for 2013, and to four from the next season.
Source: Formula 1 | Image: firststoptyres / CC BY 2.0