Sweden’s Handmade Inline-16: Four Volvos Forge an 8.1L Monster
A Swedish hobbyist, Pelle Söderström, built an 8.1-liter inline-16 engine dubbed Herkules 1934 by wiring four Volvo B20 blocks into one crank-driven unit. With a two-meter-long crank, the design is limited to about 3,000 rpm to protect the drivetrain, delivering roughly 264 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 rpm. The project reportedly required around 13,000 hours and is supported by a workshop manual (in Swedish, with English translation). Videos showcase a loud, industrial-sounding start-up rather than a refined exotic note.