Devel Sixteen, Dubai’s Ridiculous Hypercar, Climbs to over 4,500 HP on Engine Dyno

To be more precise, this is an engine dyno episode - staying with the doubtful theme, we have to explain engine dyno tests are easier to perform compared to events that see the entire car being strapped to a dyno. For one thing, finding a transmission that can cope with the output level promised by the Sixteen is not exactly easy.

Speaking of promises, Dubai’s engineering quest claims it can offer 5,000 hp - no typo here. We are dealing with a 12.3-liter V16 engine, which uses a quad-turbo setup (81mm turbochargers were used).

The engine comes from US-based specialist Steve Morris Engines. While the company is known on the American drag racing scene, this whole story reminds us of Koenigsegg’s early days, but with an extra topping of exaggeration.

The powerplant comes with a billet block and camshaft, as well as 32 titanium valves, while bragging about multiple “first and only”/“most” titles in the engine world. Steve Morris Engines stresses the fact that this is not a pair of V8s welded together.

The results of the dyno run? With a boost pressure of 36 psi, the unit delivers 4,515 hp at 6,900 rpm and 3,519 lb-ft (4,771 Nm) of twist at 6,600 rpm. Nevertheless, the company explains that the horsepower mentioned above was limited by the dyno.

Once the boost was dialed down to 20 psi and the unit was fed 93-octane pump gas, the output went down to 3,006 hp and 2,407 lb-ft (3,264 Nm).

While we won’t doubt the internal combustion shenanigans seen here, the big challenge remains to turn all the muscle into real-world figures. While we wait to see how that is achieved, we’ve also brought you a video showing the debut of the Sixteen, as well as one that sees the machine at a supercar meet that was held earlier, in 2013.