Rare Spares Blog

The history of fuel injection dates back over 100 years ago, to 1902 where it wasn’t used in cars, rather in aviation applications. A French aviation pioneer by the name of Leon Levavasseur installed a device of great similarity to a fuel injection system on his Antoinette aircraft, which  also holds the distinction of carrying the first V8 engine of any type ever produced.

Many other pioneers experimented with the fuel injection concept over the next 20 years, and by 1925 John Hesselman, the pioneer behind the Hesselman engine, established what we know as petrol direct injection. On the diesel front, it was very common for these types of engines to be utilising a primitive version of fuel injection.

Throughout the Second World War fuel injection played a huge part in the German air fleet, with many of their aircrafts running direct fuel injection and capitalising on the inherent efficiencies associated with the technology.

Post WW2, fuel injection began making its way into more consumer oriented products and eventually made its way to Australian manufacturers by ways of the XE Falcon and VK Commodore. The XE Falcon, released in the early 80’s featured a 4.1 litre six cylinder Electronically Fuel Injected engine that was introduced to replace the 4.9 litre and 5.8 litre Cleveland V8’s. The reception among the general public was spotty at best, who were left to rue a significant decrease in power when compared to the lumbering V8’s.

The VK Commodore in general was very popular amongst punters; although the fuel injected straight six optioned VK struggled to take off. The lack of uptake among the public was reflected in Holden’s choice to recruit the Nissan RB30 for the VL, which of course has gone down in folklore as one of Holden’s most iconic and popular vehicles.

Since those early days of fuel injection in Australia, the concept has improved by leaps and bounds worldwide, and the packages included in the outgoing Commodores and Falcons were up there with the best. Of course the engine packages included in these models have come a long way since the early 80’s, and engines such as the Ford Barra showcased exactly what Australian motoring was all about – just enough tech, just enough efficiency and a whole lot of power.

What’s next in automotive technology? Are Electric Vehicles going to spell the end of fuel injection, or does the internal combustion engine have some fight left? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.