Porsche has patented an unusual combustion-engine layout that uses six strokes over three crankshaft revolutions. The idea is not a six-cylinder engine, and it does not yet prove double horsepower or higher efficiency. Its distinguishing feature is two combustion events—and therefore two power-producing strokes—within the six-stroke cycle.
The patent, US12123342B2, is titled “Method for a combustion machine with two times three strokes.” Porsche and the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca filed it with a priority date of February 23, 2023. It was published as US20240301817A1 on September 12, 2024, and granted on October 22, 2024. The patent is listed as active, but it describes a method and mechanism rather than a production-ready Porsche engine.
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What Porsche’s six-stroke cycle actually does
A conventional four-stroke engine completes intake, compression, combustion and exhaust over two crankshaft revolutions, or 720 degrees. It produces one main power stroke during that interval.
Porsche’s proposal takes three crankshaft revolutions—1,080 degrees—to complete six piston strokes. Those strokes are arranged as two alternating three-stroke sequences. Each sequence contains a combustion event, so the engine is intended to produce two power strokes in three crankshaft revolutions.
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| Cycle | Stroke | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feed | Admit a fuel mixture to the cylinder |
| 2 | Compress | Compress the mixture |
| 3 | Burn | Combust the mixture and produce the first power stroke |
| 4 | Compress | Compress the remaining gas after scavenging |
| 5 | Burn | Combust the mixture again and produce the second power stroke |
| 6 | Expel | Remove the remaining gas mixture |
The important detail is that the second combustion does not begin with a completely fresh conventional intake charge. It follows a short scavenging operation, and the cylinder can still contain residual exhaust gas. That means the second power stroke may not match the first in energy or cylinder pressure.
How the second combustion event is made possible
The patent places gas-exchange ports in a special region of the cylinder. As the piston passes a second bottom-dead-center position, the ports can admit fresh gas while removing at least some of the residual exhaust. Fuel may be injected during or shortly after this scavenging phase.
This is the key difference from simply adding two strokes to an ordinary four-stroke engine. The piston does not just perform intake, compression, power, exhaust, intake and power with a conventional crankshaft. The proposed engine has to create an additional usable combustion sequence while controlling the gas left in the cylinder.
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The unusual crank mechanism
Porsche’s patent does not rely on a normal crankshaft and connecting-rod arrangement. It describes an eccentric planetary crank system.
In broad terms, the connecting rod attaches eccentrically to a planetary wheel. That wheel engages with an annular gear, allowing the piston’s effective stroke and dead-center positions to vary as the mechanism rotates. The patent also describes an optional rotatable annulus that can alter the eccentricity and shift the piston’s dead-center locations.
That movement is intended to create the piston positions required by the two three-stroke sequences, including the second scavenging point. It is also the feature most likely to raise practical engineering questions. Compared with a conventional crankshaft, the arrangement adds gears, contact surfaces, bearings and control considerations. Those parts could increase friction, weight, manufacturing cost, noise and durability demands.
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Does it really produce double power?
Not based on the evidence available.
The patent’s “double power” concept refers to having two power strokes within six individual strokes. A standard four-stroke engine has one power stroke every two crankshaft revolutions. Porsche’s proposed cycle has two power strokes every three revolutions.
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That is a higher power-stroke frequency, but it is not automatically twice the output. Comparing only those intervals:
- A conventional four-stroke engine produces one power stroke per two revolutions.
- The patented design produces two power strokes per three revolutions.
- At the same engine speed, that is an increase in the number of nominal power events, not a 2× increase.
Actual engine output also depends on displacement, airflow, combustion pressure, fuel energy, pumping losses, friction, heat rejection and engine speed. The second combustion may be weaker because it uses a charge affected by residual exhaust and a very brief scavenging phase.
The patent does not provide a verified horsepower figure, dynamometer test, torque curve or comparison with a conventional engine of equivalent displacement. “Double power” should therefore be treated as an invention objective or technical claim about the cycle—not as a demonstrated result.
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Is the six-stroke engine more efficient?
The patent does not establish a numerical efficiency improvement. It discusses combining aspects of two-stroke and four-stroke operation with the goal of increasing output while retaining cleaner combustion, but it does not publish brake thermal efficiency, fuel-consumption or emissions results.
There is a plausible potential benefit: if the engine produces more power from a given displacement, a vehicle could use a smaller engine for the same required output. Downsizing can reduce pumping and friction losses in some operating conditions. More frequent power strokes could also improve power density.
However, the planetary gear system adds mechanical losses, and the extra gas-exchange and combustion events introduce their own pumping and heat-transfer penalties. Better efficiency is possible in theory, but it has not been demonstrated by the patent.
Major engineering challenges
- Scavenging quality: The cylinder must remove enough exhaust while avoiding the loss of fresh mixture through the ports. Poor scavenging would dilute the second charge and weaken combustion.
- Second-stroke combustion: The second power event has to burn reliably despite residual exhaust, limited preparation time and changing cylinder conditions.
- Mechanical friction: The eccentric planetary arrangement has more moving interfaces than a conventional crankshaft. Its friction and lubrication requirements could offset some of the extra power strokes.
- Strength and durability: Gears, eccentric loads, connecting-rod forces and combustion pressures would need to survive millions of cycles across a wide speed range.
- Noise and vibration: The changing piston motion and gear engagement could create vibration or gear noise that would be difficult to accept in a road car.
- Emissions: Residual exhaust, short scavenging windows and a second injection or combustion event would require precise control to meet production-vehicle emissions limits.
- Packaging and cost: A complex crank mechanism could be heavier, more expensive and harder to manufacture than the conventional crankshaft it replaces.
What this patent does—and does not—mean for Porsche cars
This is a patent, not an announcement of a new 911 engine. The document does not identify a production vehicle, prototype test program or launch date. It also does not establish road-car durability, emissions compliance, noise levels or real-world fuel economy.
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Patents are also deliberately broad. A company may patent an architecture to protect research, explore future options or prevent competitors from using an idea, even if the design never reaches production. The existence of US12123342B2 confirms that Porsche and its university partner protected this mechanism—not that Porsche has built a showroom engine using it.
What would prove the concept?
A convincing evaluation would need more than patent drawings. The most useful evidence would include:
- Brake horsepower and torque measured on a dynamometer
- Fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency at multiple loads
- Combustion-pressure data for both power strokes
- Scavenging efficiency and residual-exhaust measurements
- Friction and pumping-loss comparisons with a conventional engine
- Exhaust-emissions results
- Durability testing of the planetary crank mechanism
Until those figures exist, the safest conclusion is that Porsche has patented an inventive way to increase the frequency of combustion events. It has not publicly proved twice the output or a measurable efficiency gain.
FAQ
Does Porsche have a six-stroke engine?
Porsche has patented a six-stroke combustion-engine method, US12123342B2. The patent does not show that Porsche has put the design into a production car or publicly demonstrated a complete engine.
How does Porsche’s six-stroke engine work?
It uses six strokes over three crankshaft revolutions: feed, compress, burn, compress, burn and expel. Scavenging ports admit fresh gas and remove some exhaust before the second compression and combustion sequence.
Does the engine make twice the power?
That has not been proven. The design has two power strokes every three crankshaft revolutions, compared with one every two revolutions in a conventional four-stroke engine. More power events do not automatically mean twice the horsepower.
Is Porsche’s six-stroke engine more efficient?
No numerical efficiency improvement has been established. The design might support downsizing if it delivers higher power density, but its extra gears, friction, scavenging demands and combustion complexity could also create losses.
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The Bottom Line
Porsche’s patent is a serious and technically interesting attempt to fit two combustion events into a three-revolution, six-stroke cycle. Its eccentric planetary crank and narrow scavenging window make it substantially different from a normal four-stroke engine. But “double power” and “higher efficiency” remain unverified: the patent contains no published dynamometer, fuel-economy, emissions or durability results, and there is no confirmed production application.
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