Designed to power giant container ships, the 14-cylinder Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C two-stroke turbocharged diesel engine is the world’s largest combustion engine.
Measuring thirteen meters high, twenty-six meters long, and weighing a whopping 2,300 tons, the 14-cylinder Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C is a metal monstrosity worthy of the title of ‘largest combustion engine ever built’. The giant crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons, while each of the 14 pistons weighs 5 tons. At 102 rpm, it has a power output of 108,920 bhp (80,080 kW) and burns through about 250 tons of heavy fuel oil per day. Even at its most efficient setting, the enormous Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C consumes 1,660 gallons of heavy fuel oil per hour.
