Bonkers VW Four-Cylinder Race Engine Makes Over 2,000 Horsepower

What does it take to build a 4-cylinder engine capable of an insane 2,000 horsepower? This custom-built drag racer features a bespoke flat-4 designed by the owner. This unique engine is enough to give this Brazilian racing team the title of the most powerful 4-cylinder engine ever dyno’d.

The team at FuelTech USA builds some of the highest quality fuel system components for your modified street and race car. To showcase their tech in action, FuelTech USA has a YouTube channel where they showcase builds that use their fuel system components to produce impressive results.

Today’s feature by FuelTech USA is a record-setting drag racer built by a Brazilian drag racing team. This drag racer uses an air-cooled VW flat-4 that was redesigned by the owner to create the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever dyno’d. This engine build was a personal project for the owner who spent years turning the humble air-cooled flat-4 into a legitimate drag racing powerhouse.

The engine is billet construction including the block and the head that utilizes off-the-shelf components created for V8 engines making the final product very unique. The flat-4 displaces 3.5-liter and uses a compound turbocharger setup that includes a Precision turbo 88mm turbocharger that feeds a larger 106mm turbocharger. This interesting setup allows the smaller turbocharger to spool up quickly at lower revs and then feed the larger turbo to kick in at higher RPM.

The final product is an air-cooled flat-4 that reliably produces 2029 horsepower on the dyno and is ready to set records on the drag strip. To support the impressive custom engine, this drag racer uses a host of parts from FuelTech USA including FT600, FTSPARK, Peak & Hold, WB-O2 Nano, EGT-8 & FT Injector.

What do you think of this insane drag racer build? Would you build something similar or choose a more traditional engine setup?