INCREDIBLE footage showing the staggering scale of the world’s largest engine has baffled petrol-heads.
Weighing in at 2,300 tonnes the monstrous contraption is heavier than 180 double-decker buses and as powerful as 90 Bugattis.
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Designed by Finnish manufacturer Wärtsilä the Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C was created to power globetrotting vast cargo ships.
The mammoth engine measures 13.5 meters high at its tallest point and is 26.59 meters long making it roughly the same size as a block of flats.
The mighty machine is estimated to cost “upwards of $27million,” (£21 million) and costs around £5,300 ($6,800) per hour to run.
It’s a two-stroke turbocharged low-speed diesel engine with 14 cylinders.
Despite its gigantic size the engine uses common rail technology in place of traditional camshaft, chain gear, fuel pump and hydraulic actuator systems.
This provides maximum performance at lower revolutions per minute, reduces fuel consumption and emits lower levels of harmful emissions.
The engine first entered commercial service in September 2006 and is the largest reciprocating engine in the world.
It was put onboard the Emma Mærsk – the largest container ship ever built.
In 2006 more than 300 RT-flex96C engines and older RTA96C engines were in service or on order.
The jaw-dropping contraption has astonished motor enthusiasts as they’ve flocked to share their thoughts online.
“Wow. That’s all I got. Wow,” said one.
“It staggers the imagination,” wrote another.
While a third added: “Amazing. Truly amazing.”
A fourth likened the machine to “a giant medieval dragon coming to rest” calling it “simply incredible.”
The engine has crosshead bearings so the always-vertical piston rods create a tight seal under the pistons.
This means the lubrication of the engine is split.
The cylinders and the crankcase use different lubricants, each being specialised for its designated role.
The cylinders are lubricated by continuous timed injection of lubricant made to protect the cylinders from wear.
It also neutralises the acids formed during combustion of the high-sulfur fuels commonly used.
The crosshead design reduces sideways forces on the piston reducing diametral cylinder liner wear.
As a piston descends, it compresses incoming combustion air for the adjacent cylinders.
This also serves to cushion the piston as it approaches bottom dead centre, removing some load from the bearings.
It comes as the world’s largest snake has been spotted lurking in the depths of the Amazon Rainforest.
The beast is a whopping 440lbs, three times the weight of the average human, 26ft long, and with a head the size of a human’s.
And the world’s biggest iceberg is almost as tall as The Shard skyscraper, scientists have discovered.
Satellite images of the “megaberg”, officially named A23a, show it has a depth of 920ft (280m).
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