Worlds largest engine
What is the worlds largest engine? The worlds biggest engine?
The phrases "world’s biggest engine" and "world’s biggest engine" is ambiguous because it lacks a clear reference frame or category; “biggest” and "largest" can mean several different things depending on context, purpose, and measurement criteria.
Sector Differences
Different industries define “engine” differently. A massive marine diesel engine powers container ships, a jet turbine like the GE9X drives aircraft, and rocket engines such as the Raptor or F‑1 produce unmatched thrust. Each could justifiably claim the title of “world’s biggest engine” within its sector, leading to natural ambiguity.
Comparative Language Issues
The term also suffers from linguistic ambiguity — "biggest" and "largest" are a relative adjective that implies comparison but not a fixed technical measure. Without specifying “biggest by what metric” or “in which category,” the statement becomes vague and open to misinterpretation.
In short, “world’s biggest engine” is ambiguous because “biggest” can signify entirely different metrics — mass, volume, or output — and “engine” itself applies to many unrelated machines across industries, each optimized for different functions.
Time issue
As time progresses, the target shifts. What was the biggest engine in 1920 is by any measure a medium size engine at todays standards. So we need to issue a timeframe to the equation too.
Physical Size (Mass and Dimensions)
If “biggest” refers to physical scale, then we measure total weight and external dimensions (height, length, width). This matters for stationary powerplants and ship engines, where installation space and total mass are significant.
Power Output (Horsepower or Kilowatts)
“Biggest” sometimes refers to power output — how much work the engine performs per unit time, measured in horsepower (hp) or kilowatts (kW). Proton rocket engines, jet turbines, and electrical generators are often ranked by this value.
Thrust (Newton or Pound‑force)
For jet and rocket engines, thrust is the key metric — the total forward force produced by propellant ejection. Rocket classifications like F‑1 or Raptor engines use kilonewtons (kN) or meganewtons (MN) to define “bigness”
Hybrid Metrics (Torque or Power‑to‑Weight)
Alternative measures such as torque (rotation force), or power‑to‑weight ratio (hp / kg) can provide more context, especially in performance or mobile applications like vehicles or aircraft.
Big engines, Large engines.
Engines, large ones, mostly mounted in ships, and there has been many famous names up thru the years.
What was a big engine in 1895 is shure a small engine today.
If we want the engine with the biggest bore, that honor probaly goes to the 1060 mm bore Fiat GMT
The Contenders - short, brief history.
It must be a crosshead engine, two stroke.
Burmeister & Wain
Doxford
Götaverken
Fiat GMT
MAN
Mitsubishi 12UEC85/180D
Stork-Werkspoor
Sulzer
| Slow Speed 2 stroke crosshead engines from 2000 and onwards - The BIG ones | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine
type / serie |
Variant | Cylinders | Bore
mm |
Stroke
mm |
Volume
pr cyl liter |
Volume
engine liter |
kW | bhp | Torque
kNm |
RPM | Length
mm |
Width
mm |
Height
mm |
Weight
tonnes |
Year in
service |
| Sulzer RT-flex | 14 | 14 | 960 | 2500 | 1809 | 25334 | 80080 | 108920 | 7498 | 102 | 27313 | 4480 | 13519 | 2300 | 2004 |
| MAN B&W G95 | C9 | 12 | 950 | 3460 | 2470 | 29640 | 82440 | 112126 | 80 | ||||||
| MAN B&W K98 | ME7 / MC-C7 | 14 | 980 | 2660 | 1617 | 22638 | 87220 | 119307 | 97 | 27885 | 4370 | 13450 | 2405 | ||
| MAN B&W S90ME | C 9.2 | 14 | 900 | 3260 | 2040 | 28560 | 81340 | 110630 | 84 | ||||||
Ultra lareg bore engines
B&W K98FF, MAN KSZ105, Fiat 1060S. SULZER RND105
| Engine maker | Trunk
Cross head |
Engine type | Single
Double |
Bore
mm |
Stroke
mm |
Volume
pr cylinder |
BHP pr
cyl |
MEP
bar |
RPM | Piston
speed m/sec |
Weight
tonn |
Year in
service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Holt | ||||||||||||
| AEG | ||||||||||||
| AEG-Hesselman | ||||||||||||
| Burmeister & Wain | CH | K98FF | SA | 980 | 2000 | 1508.59 | 3800 | 10,8 | 103 | 6,86 | 1968 | |
| Deutsche Werft | ||||||||||||
| Doxford | ||||||||||||
| Fiat GMT | CH | 1060S | 1060 | 1900 | 1676.7 | 4000 | 10,0 | 106 | 6,71 | 1640 | 1971 | |
| Fullagar | ||||||||||||
| Franco Tosi Meccanica | ||||||||||||
| Götaverken | ||||||||||||
| Harland & Wolff | ||||||||||||
| Krupp | ||||||||||||
| McIntosh and Seymour | ||||||||||||
| MAN | CH | KSZ105/180 | 1050 | 1800 | 1558.62 | 4000 | 10,7 | 108 | 6,48 | 1969 | ||
| Mitsubishi | ||||||||||||
| Nobel | ||||||||||||
| North British Diesel Engine Company (NBDEC) | ||||||||||||
| Nordberg | RF90 | 889 | 1752 | |||||||||
| Polar | ||||||||||||
| Richardsons Westgarth | ||||||||||||
| Sulzer | CH | RND 105 | 1050 | 1800 | 1558.62 | 4000 | 10,5 | 108 | 6,48 | 1969 | ||
| Stork | ||||||||||||
| Stork-Werkspoor | ||||||||||||
| Still & Straight Diesel / Scott Engines | ||||||||||||
| Swan Hunter | ||||||||||||
| Vickers | ||||||||||||
| Werkspoor | ||||||||||||
| Worthington |