This humble atmospheric Cosworth 3-cylinder pumps out 250 hp

Cosworth has designed a naturally-aspirated, three-cylinder car engine which somehow manages to produce a whopping 250 hp (186 kW). It also complies with all currently applicable international environmental standards.

The company said it came up with this engine design when working on a 6.5-liter V12 monster motor of the upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie.

According to Cosworth, the engineers needed almost five months to get the first prototype up and running. Instead of trying to build a large twelve-cylinder unit straight away, they preferred to create a smaller, three-cylinder engine first as a proof of concept. The mini motor is based on a regular V4 with a custom cylinder head and corresponds to exactly ¼ of the Valkyrie engine.

By doing this, the R&D team was able to test every quarter of the future Aston Martin Valkyrie engine individually and make sure it meets the requirements set forth in the project.

Photo: motor1.com