What do you get when you cross a Volkswagen modern diesel engineer with an electric vehicle engineer from GM?

If you guessed a hybrid electric-diesel we have all been waiting for, you are wrong. No, this dynamic duo has reinvented the two-stroke engine using the horizontally-opposed piston concept from diesel engines of the early 1900s.

Interestingly, the OPOC engine design was conceived by Peter Hofbauer, the former Volkswagen powertrain engineer that designed the German automaker’s first high speed diesel engine. Additionally, EcoMotors’ CEO, Don Runkle, is a former employee of General Motors and one of the key men behind the EV1 all-electric car.

They call it the OPOC (Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder)? Heh. Sounds like they have a sense of humor. I wonder if EcoMotors International will allow anyone to name a vehicle the Alypse.

The article suggests the OPOC will run diesel or gasoline. Who would bother with gasoline? That might be the biggest news of all. Small efficient diesel engines everywhere! Most excitement right now seems to be directed towards the efficiency of the engine (50% higher) and the big money backing the company ($23mil from Bill Gates and Vinod Khosla). Maybe they had to include gasoline in the business plan to get support.