Today’s F1s reach power outputs of over 1,000 horsepower, but they are no match for the most powerful ever. Here are the details.
Since the hybrid power unit made its debut in F1, i.e. in 2014, the power of the engines exceeded 1,000 horsepower, even if we don’t have precise data, considering that the teams keep information of this type confidential. However, there was a clear step forward compared to the naturally aspirated V8s used between 2006 and 2013, which hardly went beyond 750 horsepower.
Reading these data, you would think that the current single-seaters are the most powerful F1 cars of all time, but in reality this is not the case. since the engine with the most horsepower dates back to the 1980s. It was the glorious era of supercharged engines, which in terms of sound were a completely different level compared to the current ones. Well, a very famous brand, at the time, created a very powerful engine, which led the team it supplied to victory in the world drivers’ title.
F1, let’s discover the most powerful engine ever
Many people ignore it, but the most powerful engine in F1 history is the BMW M12, which produced over 1,300 horsepower of maximum powerand equipped the Brabham BT52 from 1983, which won the drivers’ world title with Nelson Piquet, to his second world championship in his career. It was a 1.5 liter engine, which would never make you think of achieving similar power, also because, obviously, at the time there wasn’t the electric part that is there today.
How was it possible that an engine of these characteristics could reach similar powers? All this happened thanks to an exceptional boost pressure of 4.5 bar, which made this turbo engine, even at the time, the most powerful in the history of F1. Its creator was Paul Rosche, who spoke of a power between 1,300 and 1,400 horsesbut he stated that this was never known with certainty, given that on the test bench it was never brought beyond 1,280 horsepower, already a good performance.
The engine in question, as mentioned, won the world drivers’ title with Piquet’s branded Brabham Parmalatand his teammate was ours Riccardo Patrese. Afterwards, it equipped teams such as Arrows, ATS, Benetton and Ligier, but which never managed to excel also due to chassis and aerodynamic limitations. And no one has forgotten that engine, even today.
