Pump it up (when you need it)

Engine efficiency has been limited by the need to avoid potentially damaging peak pressures. But supposing you could alter those pressures on the hoof, adjusting for load while the engine was operating?

Switching scenario for four-stroke VCR. Picture: Institute for Combustion Engines, RWTH Aachen University

Engine efficiency has been limited by the need to avoid potentially damaging peak pressures. But supposing you could alter those pressures on the hoof, adjusting for load while the engine was operating?