Genty, the supercar manufacturing startup behind the Akylone supercar, has published a few more details about the power unit of the vehicle and the man behind it, Reinhard Konneker. The German engineer was involved with famous motorsport projects from an early age. During the '60s he took part in the development of the Porsche 908 and later the Porsche 917.

During the first half of the '80s, he was involved in the development and production of the Porsche-TAG turbo engine with which McLaren won two consecutive Formula 1 world championships in 1984 and 1985. During the '90s he was hired by Mercedes-Benz and developed V12 engines for Group C racing cars and V6 engines for the DTM. Needless to say, both projects were hugely successful. To complete his tour de force among the top German car manufacturers he then moved over to BMW where he was involved in the development of the V10 F1 engine.

He completed this between 1998-2002, however this project was less successful than the previous ones. After leaving BMW, Konneker rejoined Porsche and helped design the V8 LMP2 engine. This was his last corporate project. After leaving Porsche, he became a freelance consultant and in this capacity advised Audi and Lamborghini in engine production of V8 and V10 engines. His latest creation the monstrous V8 4.8-liter engine, 1,000 horsepower and 940 lb-ft is probably the most powerful power unit he ever designed. Fuel is controlled via a direct injection and the engine car revs to over 8,000 rpm. For the sake of durability, compression ratio is at 9:1.

Only 15 units of the Akylone supercars will be produced. Apart from the powerful engine, they will be equipped with an Xtrac seven-speed sequential gearbox. Weight distribution of the 2,425 pounds carbon-fiber and aluminum contraption is expected at 42:58 front-rear and hints at a few challenges for the driver. When he overcomes those he can hope for a top-speed of 220 mph and acceleration to 62 mph in 2.7 seconds.