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Automotive Engineering5 MIN

Is Porsche Really Working on an 18-Cylinder Engine? What the Patent Actually Shows

Porsche has a pending patent for a three-bank W engine that could be configured with 18 cylinders. The filing reveals the architecture, intake and exhaust layout and possible turbocharging, but no production car, prototype or performance figures have been confirmed.

By CarCody Team

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Yes—but only at the patent and engineering-design stage. Porsche AG has a pending German patent application describing a three-bank W-cylinder internal-combustion engine. The reference layout is widely interpreted as an 18-cylinder engine, yet Porsche has not confirmed a running prototype, a production vehicle, power output, displacement, or a launch date. In practical terms, Porsche has designed and protected the concept; that is not the same as announcing that an 18-cylinder car is coming.

What did Porsche patent?

Google Patents identifies Dr. Ing. H.C.F. Porsche AG as the original and current assignee of German application DE102024110327A1. The filing carries a priority date of April 12, 2024, was published on October 16, 2025, and is listed as pending.

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The patent abstract describes an internal-combustion engine with first, second and third cylinder banks. Each bank has its own cylinder-head bank, while all three share one crankshaft. Intake plumbing connects to an air collector above the banks, and exhaust gases are routed to a discharge system at the sides.

Those details establish an engine architecture, not a vehicle program. Patent applications can protect ideas that are still experimental, strategically valuable or never commercialized.

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How many cylinders does Porsche’s W engine have?

The reference drawings support an 18-cylinder interpretation: three banks, each arranged as an inline six, around one crankshaft. Reports from Car and Driver and Road & Track describe the banks as forming a genuine three-bank W, with the banks positioned at roughly 60-degree intervals.

The filing also expressly allows other cylinder counts. Car and Driver reproduces the patent’s qualification: It should be mentioned that the internal-combustion engine could also have a different number of cylinders. Coverage of the filing has therefore discussed 9-, 12-, 15- and 18-cylinder possibilities, depending on how many cylinders are assigned to each bank. These are contemplated configurations, not announced Porsche products.

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Question What the evidence supports
Is the reference design an 18-cylinder engine? Yes, the drawings are read as three six-cylinder banks.
Is 18 cylinders the only possible version? No. The patent permits a different number of cylinders.
Is it a running prototype? Not confirmed by the cited sources.
Is it assigned to a production car? No project or vehicle has been announced.

What makes this a true W engine?

A conventional V engine has two cylinder banks arranged around a crankshaft. Porsche’s proposed layout adds a third bank, creating a three-sided W shape. That differs from some earlier “W” engines that effectively combine two narrow-angle V engines on a common crankshaft. In Porsche’s filing, the three banks are separate elements arranged around the crankshaft.

Separate intake and exhaust paths

The intake air is collected from above the cylinder banks, while exhaust outlets run toward the sides. The intended benefit is packaging: intake passages can remain comparatively short and direct instead of sharing the hottest, most congested area with the exhaust system.

Keeping incoming air away from hot exhaust components can reduce heat soak and flow restriction. Cooler, less-restricted intake air may help an engine’s power and efficiency, but the patent reports no measured result. There are no published horsepower, torque, displacement, fuel-economy, emissions or sound figures for the concept.

Could Porsche use three turbochargers?

Reporting on the patent says the design leaves room for one exhaust-gas turbocharger per cylinder bank. If implemented that way, an 18-cylinder version could use a tri-turbo arrangement, with each turbocharger fed by one bank.

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That is a packaging possibility rather than a confirmed specification. The filing does not state turbocharger size, boost pressure, control strategy, output or the vehicle in which such a system would operate. Adding three banks and multiple turbochargers would also increase cooling, lubrication, control-system and certification demands.

Will Porsche build an 18-cylinder production car?

There is no confirmation that it will. The cited reporting says Porsche has announced no project to which the proposed engine is attached. No production model, prototype, performance specification, price or launch timing appears in the available material.

Even if Porsche builds hardware for testing, a production engine would face difficult practical questions:

  • Packaging: Three cylinder banks, their heads, exhaust plumbing and turbochargers would require substantial space and careful crash-structure integration.
  • Mass and complexity: More cylinders mean more pistons, valves, injectors, ignition components and maintenance points than a six- or eight-cylinder engine.
  • Thermal management: Three exhaust banks and potentially three turbochargers would create significant heat-management requirements.
  • Emissions certification: A new high-cylinder-count engine would need to meet the regulations of every market where Porsche intended to sell it.
  • Business case: Engineering and certifying a specialized engine is difficult to justify without a specific performance or motorsport application.

Those are engineering and commercial considerations, not evidence that Porsche has cancelled or approved the project.

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What does “working on” mean in this case?

For this story, “working on” should be read narrowly: Porsche has developed an engineering concept far enough to file for patent protection. The filing confirms ownership of the idea and reveals its proposed layout, airflow routing and possible scalability.

It does not confirm that Porsche has completed a prototype, started vehicle testing, selected a production site or committed to a saleable model. Until Porsche makes such an announcement, the responsible description is “a pending patent for a possible three-bank W engine,” with an 18-cylinder reference configuration.

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What should readers watch for next?

A meaningful change in status would require evidence beyond the patent itself, such as a Porsche announcement naming a vehicle, photographs or documentation of a running test engine, regulatory filings, or technical specifications tied to a program. Without one of those developments, claims that an 18-cylinder Porsche is imminent go beyond what the filing establishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Porsche’s patented engine definitely an 18-cylinder W18?

The reference drawings are interpreted as three six-cylinder banks, which totals 18 cylinders. However, the patent explicitly says the engine can use a different number of cylinders, so W18 is a reference configuration rather than a locked production specification.

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Does Porsche’s patent include horsepower or engine displacement?

No. The available patent summary and reporting do not provide displacement, horsepower, torque, fuel economy or emissions results. Any specific output figure would be speculation unless Porsche publishes one.

Is this the same type of W engine used by other automakers?

Not exactly. Porsche’s proposal uses three distinct cylinder banks around one crankshaft. That is structurally different from paired-V arrangements that are also marketed or described as W engines.

Could the design be used with fewer than 18 cylinders?

Yes. The patent’s wording permits a different cylinder count, and coverage has discussed 9-, 12- and 15-cylinder variants as well as 18. Those options describe the design’s flexibility, not confirmed engine programs.

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Automotive Engineeringcar newsengine patentsPorscheW18 engine

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