Who’s ready to see the coolest 50cc engine of all time? This is a legit V12 that turns gasoline into internal combustion music, and boy does it sing. A digital readout shows it spinning at a sky-high 11,502 RPM and honestly, we have no idea if it goes higher. With custom headers, frankly, it doesn’t need to go higher. It’s pure mechanical music as-is.
This is another small-scale engine from JohnnyQ90 on YouTube. We’ve featured his small V8s previously, both naturally aspirated and fitted with a tiny supercharger, and now it’s time for the 12 lunger. This is a single overhead cam engine, filled with 1.5 ounces (45 milliliters) of 15w40 oil and running on 100 octane fuel.
It’s liquid-cooled, and on that front, this engine has a custom cooling system that started with an amazing bespoke fan. Milled from aluminum with black blades, it was a bit too small for the job as we see rather dramatically in the video. An 80mm computer fan was swapped in but that still wasn’t enough to keep the coolant from boiling over under throttle. A 100mm fan finally did the trick, and with it all mounted on a handsome aluminum plate, the engine sings at speed without overheating.
But wait, there’s more.
A previous version of this V12 used dual distributors for each cylinder bank. The upgraded model has an electronic ignition with a coil-on-plug design, and there’s a new flywheel at the back. With the exhaust ports completely open on the heads, the engine sounds properly wild and the throttle response is pretty much instantaneous. With a pair of 3D-printed stainless-steel tube headers installed, the exhaust note is still aggressive but tuned to sound like an Italian supercar.
The video closes with some data on engine temperatures and rpm. Using a thermal camera with the V12 under load, we see temperatures on the valve covers hovering around 91 degrees Celsius. The headers are a tad warmer at 147 degrees, but the coolant and the big fan keep the engine from getting too hot. And it’s not like there isn’t much happening inside. Using reflective tape on the flywheel, we see the engine idling at 3,100 rpm. Wide open it reaches 11,502 rpm, at which point it sounds not unlike F1 cars from the V12 era.
We emailed the YouTube channel in hopes of learning a bit more about the build process. Hopefully, we’ll have more information to share soon, and we will certainly be watching this channel for more mini-engine builds.
