A STARTLING INVENTION.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 21, 15 September 1911, Page 3

A STARTLING INVENTION.

A startling innovation in motor engine construction will be placed on the market by a well-known Italian motor concern at an early date. The new feature is a variable stroke, which is actuated from the steering wheel, the same as a throttle lever, and by which the stroke of the pistons in the cylinders is shortened or lengthened, thus affecting the volume of explosive mixture and the speed of the engine. For three years the inventors have been quietly testing the variable stroke engine on the roads, and the results have been so satisfactory that the company —which is a most conservative one—is now going to manufacture the new type of engine as one of its standard models. The big advantage claimed for the variable stroke engine "is its flexibility—for, like a steam engine, the power can be increased at will, thus doing away with all gear changing, the only gear needed being a reverse. "What this means only motorists can appreciate. The change speed gear box is one of the most expensive parts of the motor ear to-construct, and its elimination would be a great advance towards the perfect motor. How the variable stroke is obtained has not yet been disclosed, but further particulars of the Italian invention will no doubt be available at an early date.