---
title: "World’s Smallest Working Lego V8 Sounds Like the Real Thing"
description: "Tiny engines made out of Legos often look cool but don't actually run. This one absolutely looks the part, and also makes real V8 sounds."
date: "2023-04-10"
modified: "2023-04-10"
authors:
  - name: "Peter Holderith"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/peter-holderith"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/worlds-smallest-working-lego-v8-sounds-like-the-real-thing"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
---

# World’s Smallest Working Lego V8 Sounds Like the Real Thing

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/10/smallest-lego-v8-lead.jpg>)
*\<em\>ShaunSchafGames43 via YouTube\</em\>*

[Lego engines](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/these-air-powered-lego-piston-engines-are-hypnotizing-to-watch>) powered by compressed air are always a sight to behold, but sometimes they can be cumbersome contraptions that are too complicated for their own good. This tiny plastic eight-cylinder isn't like that, however. The [engine's builder](<https://youtu.be/MT_1lhIbSu8>) claims it's the world's smallest Lego V8, and despite it having a few [3D-printed parts](<https://www.thedrive.com/culture/can-3d-printing-give-us-the-future-cars-we-really-want>), I believe him. Heck, it even sounds like the real thing.

The little engine in the video revs as high as 4,350 rpm. Its incredible Lego parts are able to stay intact at those speeds, especially considering the seeming lack of lubrication. Not everything here is [OEM Lego](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/legos-new-land-rover-classic-defender-90-set-is-for-the-off-road-diehards>), though. The creator mentions the crankcase is a 3D-printed part not of his own design, and the crankshaft and valves are custom, too. Interestingly, the valves that control the airflow are from tire valve cores.

https://youtu.be/MT_1lhIbSu8

This unit is likely a two-stroke. ICE-adjacent compressed air motors like these often do not have a distinct compression or intake stroke, just a combined power/intake and exhaust stroke. That doesn't mean it's functionally any different than a big V8, of course. And since it has a cross-plane crank, it even sounds like the real thing.

[Similar Lego engines](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/these-air-powered-lego-piston-engines-are-hypnotizing-to-watch>) we've seen before use the brand's sealed pneumatic cylinders as opposed to the actual mock engine/piston sections seen here, which are also factory Lego parts. Those motors are capable of more efficient sustained operation and are even powerful enough for use in a self-contained [air-powered vehicle](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/watch-this-air-powered-lego-truck-run-well-with-a-three-cylinder-engine>). So far, the engine in the video we're seeing today is only driving a flywheel. It looks and sounds a lot more like an actual engine, though, which makes it just as cool in my book.

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/10/smallest-lego-v8-inline-A.jpg>)

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/10/smallest-lego-v8-inline-B.jpg>)

Why Lego doesn't make a working engine kit based on something like this is one of life's great mysteries.

G*ot a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com*

## Author
Peter Holderith is a former staff writer for The Drive. He enjoys covering the regular news cycle, writing reviews, and hunting down long features on obscure pieces of automotive history.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-h-5ba447192/>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/_baldtires>)