The world’s largest reciprocating diesel engine is made by Finland-based Wärtsilä Company to, as one would possibly guess, energy the world’s largest cargo ships.

At nearly 43 ft excessive and 85 ft lengthy, the 14-cylinder behemoth RT-flex96C weighs 2,300 tons. The crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons, whereas every piston — at almost 20 ft tall — weighs over 5 tons. To provide its huge measurement a body of reference, the Hollywood sign up Los Angeles is 45 ft tall, whereas your typical blue whale measures 80 to 90 ft lengthy. Sarcastically, 13 blue whales weigh much less, at about 2,000 tons.

The RT-flex96C has a displacement of almost 25,500 liters (or the equal of roughly 3,187 Bugatti Chiron engines) and produces 108,920 horsepower at 102 rpm with 5.6 million pound-foot of torque. It churns by means of 250 tons of gas a day and makes use of over 39 barrels of oil per hour, with a per-minute value of $34 — extra relying on the worth of oil on any given day.

RT-flex96C powered ships can haul 11,000 20-foot lengthy transport containers at a brisk 25 to 31 knots when most cargo ships are restricted to round 20 knots and might get from the U.S. to China 4 days faster. As of April 2023, solely 25 of those Wärtsilä engines existed, with 86 extra within the means of being constructed.