---
title: "Watch This Extreme 12.3-Liter, Quad-Turbo, 5,000-HP V-16 Engine Get Dyno Tested"
description: "Yes, it's real. Yes, it works. No, we can't afford it."
date: "2017-11-06"
modified: "2017-11-07"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/15827/watch-this-extreme-12-3-liter-quad-turbo-5000-hp-v-16-engine-get-dyno-tested"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "custom"
  - "devel"
  - "dyno"
  - "Hypercar"
  - "v-16"
---

# Watch This Extreme 12.3-Liter, Quad-Turbo, 5,000-HP V-16 Engine Get Dyno Tested

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/11/engine-dyno.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Of all the various vaporware supercar schemes of the last twenty years, the saga of the [Devel Sixteen](<https://drivetribe.com/p/will-the-devel-sixteen-ever-happen-LGeImbHtTIG25RYcrVGeiQ?iid=PEJ215B2QcOfJg-rLlvMEA>) has got to be one of the most outlandish. The Dubai-designed hypercar claimed to boast specs that make the [Bugatti Chiron](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/13651/2018-bugatti-chiron-review-the-next-stage-in-automotive-rocketry>) look like a shrinking violet: A 748-cubic-inch V-16 engine. A top speed of 348 mph. *5,000 horsepower.* Impossible, right? Wrong, according to video of a new engine dyno test.

While the cheap-looking prototype raised the eyebrows of an entire industry back when it debuted in 2013, the project is being underwritten by some very real backers with some very real money. And just as they promised, they opted to hire a small engine shop to custom-build their powerplant instead of sourcing it from another established manufacturer. [Steve Morris Engines](<https://www.facebook.com/SteveMorrisEngines/>) of Muskegon, Michigan is a small shop best known for building Camaros and Corvettes into [drag-racing demons,](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/13855/watch-this-4000-horsepower-firebird-destroy-the-drag-strip>) and they've spent the last three years designing this V-16 engine from the ground up.

[In a *Road & Track* profile](<https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a27580/devel-sixteen-5000-hp-quad-turbo-v16-steve-morris-engines/>) from last November, Steve Morris said the money guys only gave him three rules to follow: a V-16 configuration, four turbochargers, and 5,000 horsepower. The process of making that a reality was much more complex than just mashing two LS V8 engines together and calling it a day. It certainly shares some similarities with the GM engines that SME knows so well—it's got a single-cam, pushrod setup—but the block was machined out of a single aluminum billet, and it's filled with custom-designed parts like a 48-inch, single-piece crankshaft.

https://youtube.com/embed/uKaCFU81SZE

Then there's the four 81mm turbos, which were also custom-built and put out about 36 psi of boost. All that should have been good for the 5,000-horsepower goal, but the shop's dynamometer maxed out around 4,500. Last week, SME finally managed strap it [to an engine dyno](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/11223/watch-the-dodge-challenger-srt-demons-840-hp-v8-engine-scream-on-the-dyno>) with a higher readout, and what do you know: The 12.3-liter V-16 really does put out 5,007 horsepower and over 3,700 lb-ft of torque.

How does that all translate on the road? We don't know yet. Morris told *Road & Track* that he's just happy the one-off engine works, period, and it's up to the Devel team to figure out how to shoehorn the quad-turbo monster into a car. He has built it—now the question is, will they come?

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)