Revolution, not evolution: the Formula One World Championship will not just be welcoming new engines to the fray in 2006, but a whole new generation of engines. Thanks to a change on the regulations, the new V8 units with 2.4-litre displacement replace the 3.0-litre V10 powerplants which ruled the roost last year. Heinz Paschen, the Munich-based Technical Director responsible for the entire powertrain of the new F1 car, gives us a glimpse of what to expect: "The new V8 engines are shorter and, with displacement reduced by 600 cc, have lower output and fuel consumption. However, they are no lighter, cheaper or less complex than their ten-cylinder predecessors."

Although the V8 with the now compulsory cylinder angle of 90 degrees may look like a sawn-off V10, technically it is an entirely separate concept with its own specific characteristics. The V8 has a distinct firing sequence and requires a fundamentally different crankshaft design. Whereas a 72-degree offset crankshaft was used in BMW's V10 Formula One engine, V8 powerplants can feature crankshafts with either four throws spaced at
90 degrees or four throws spaced at 180 degrees. Standard production cars are fitted with 90-degree crankshaft variants due to their better dynamic attributes, but a 180-degree crankshaft is favoured in racing-car engine design. The improved performance this allows offsets the disadvantages in terms of dynamics.

As a rule, we can expect the new V8 engines to have around 20 percent less power than their V10 predecessors and 20-percent smaller radiators - both reduced in proportion to the lower displacement.

In addition to the inherent differences in the design of a V8 engine, numerous other specification details contained in the new regulations have sent the engineers back to the drawing board.

Lightweight construction principles have taken centre stage. The new V8 has to be heavier than its predecessor, even through the 2005 engine had two extra cylinders. This season's powerplants must tip the scales at no less than 95 kilograms. This should include the intake system up to and including the air filter, fuel rail and injectors, ignition coils, sensors and wiring, alternator, coolant pumps and oil pumps. It does not include liquids, exhaust manifolds, heat protection shields, oil tanks, accumulators, heat exchangers and hydraulic pump.