Plastic automotive engine
Version one was based on Ford's 2.3-liter Pinto engine and weighed (vs. for its cast iron counterpart). It was designed to produce at 9200 rpm. It was composed of metal cylinder sleeves, metal combustion chamber tops, metal piston crowns, bearings, valves and seats, and a stock 2.3L Pinto crankshaft. Nearly everything else in the engine, including the block, rods and piston skirts, were made of glass reinforced Polyamide-imide thermoplastic resins manufactured at the time by Amoco Chemicals Co. The engine was never installed in a vehicle.
Ford Sierra
Additionally, earlier models used the 1.6- and 2-litre versions of the Pinto engine (as used in the Ford Cortina) paired with a 4-speed manual gearbox. At a time when the rival Vauxhall Cavalier was offered with a 5-speed option, this led to some critics commenting that the Sierra was somewhat underpowered. In the mid 1980s, many smaller cars (some even two sectors smaller) featured 5-speed gearboxes.