From TheBestLinks.com
A V16 is an internal combustion engine in V configuration, having 16 cylinders. Engines of this number of cylinders are not common.
V16 engines have been used in certain luxury and high-performance automobiles, mostly for their smoothness (low vibration) since one can certainly make a V8 or V12 as large and powerful as one could possibly want in an automobile application. Greater numbers of cylinders are also perceived as a status symbol.
Cadillac produced the Cadillac V-16 as their most exclusive model from January 1930 until 1940, a concept revived in 2003 when a General Motors concept car, the Cadillac Sixteen used a 1000 hp (750 kW) V16.
In 1931, Marmon introduced the Marmon Sixteen, powered by an aluminum-block V16; it was arguably more advanced than the Cadillac, but the Great Depression had taken hold and only a few were produced. Marmon went into receivership in 1933 and production ceased.
In auto racing the V16 has only been used one time, by BRM. Most unusually, this was a 1.5 L powerplant...the noise made by the 16 tiny cylinders has been described as 'unforgettable'!
The other use for the V16 powerplant is in large diesel engines. Here, the manufacturers tend to work with a common cylinder size across a wide range of engines, and size the engine by the number of cylinders for different power requirements. Thus, many users of large diesel engines such as railroad locomotives use V16 powerplants, including many General Motors Electro-Motive Division locomotives.
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