What do you call a spark ignition engine that runs on JP8, the military’s standard fuel for jets and most everything else? You call it Patriot. Even better, in a pinch, this engine runs on gasoline, JP5 or regular highway diesel!
Polaris Industries produces ATVs for the military, specialized gasoline powered models for the troops way out in the badlands. They have just completed first production and received orders for the MV800, their newest, top of the line military ATV and the first military machine to use the Patriot engine. As I was reading the specs to see what this engine was all about I was a little confused when it started discussing all of the fuels you could run in this unit. What exactly is this thing?
It turns out it was developed in conjunction with the Orbital Corporation of Australia, a firm that does a lot of engine R&D for other companies. Going through their website is interesting in itself when you see all of the neat engine technologies they have their hands in. Their Direct Injector is the key here, which directly injects fuel with low pressure air into the combustion chamber instead of the port. The Polaris MV800 military ATV is the first product to utilize their 4 stroke injector.
The technical description sounds similar to HCCI, the homogenous charge process that has been getting a lot of technical press recently and Orbital says it operates in a similar fashion under high loads. Under light loads, it can “run very lean (in some cases total engine operation is carried out without the use of an air intake throttle).†Hmm …
Although the Patriot engine is designed for JP8, it can run in emergency mode with all of the other fuels I mentioned above. Try that in your average diesel or gasoline engine. That’s a prescription for disaster. In this engine, though, no diesel, no problem, fill it up with gasoline or whatever is handy, or vice versa.
This is very cool technology. The internal combustion engine looks like it still has a lot of life left in it, especially with ideas like this. Very neat!
Link: Polaris Industries
Link: Orbital Corporation
Conor says
The John Deere M-Gator (military spec) runs on the same type of engine, designed for JP8, but’ll run on anything. Of course, the top speed of the M-Gator is about 18 miles an hour, though I don’t know how much of that is the engine. Hopefully the new Polaris versions have little more juice.
seattle says
Hope they make money off the military contract. Me, hoping Polaris builds a motorcycle with the 800EFI engine and PVT transmission from their ATV line. Preferably, with a short wheelbase and low seat height. On a side note, it’s odd that Polaris separates the Victory dealers from the ATV/snowmobile dealers considering the fact that Honda is reportedly going the opposite direction and building Honda Super-1Stores with cars, motorcycles, ATVs, and everything else in one giant building.
todd says
and lawnmowers?
-todd
seattle says
Yep… lawnmowers, tillers, trimmers, snowblowers, generators, water pumps, outboard motors, watercraft, ATVs, motorcycles, and Honda automobiles. Sounds weird to have lawnmowers mixed in with the motorcycles and cars but the way bikes are sold at dealerships now – displaying them alongside competitor’s bikes – isn’t a very good marketing or sales strategy. I heard they will start consolidating the Canadian dealerships first and then the USA dealerships starting in 2009.
gui says
i think these four whellers are a magnificante pice of enginearing…im a farm kid nd boy wed kill to have one of these..in a pinch we could put e-85 in or if we needed it diesel. i think the flexability of the fuels..is what really astonded me.