https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGDJqTDXgtg

Ever since the FIA began tightening their grip on engine displacement & cylinder count, F1 engines have progressively shrunk, from V12s & V10s of the 90s to V8s, down to the present 1.6-litre V6s.

Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (formerly Mercedes-Ilmor), in their testing facilities in Brixworth, Northamptonshire UK, have managed to eke out over 50% thermal efficiency from their F1 engine - more useful work than waste heat.

The engine is just part of a whole - the Power Unit - comprising:
*Combustion engine
*Turbocharger
*Energy Recovery System (ERS)
- Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), formerly KERS;
- Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H);
- Energy store (battery);
*Control electronics.


To put the AMG F1 engine's efficiency into perspective, on average:
Petrol passenger car ~ 20%
F1 V10 ~ 30%
Turbodiesel engine ~ 40+%
Gas turbine ~ 60+%

It is expected that this powertrain will make it into a production car - the AMG Project One.