Editing Sarich orbital engine (section)

== Research and development ==
The Orbital Engine Company, with funding from partner [[BHP]] and Federal Government R&D grants,<ref name="Fleming2004">{{cite book|author=Louise Fleming|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_DsWIQ4QvoC&pg=PA59|title=Excel HSC Business Studies|publisher=Pascal Press|year=2004|isbn=978-1-74125-071-8|page=59|quote=Another disaster was the Federal Government doling out funds to assist Ralph Sarich develop his revolutionary orbital engine. In 1972, he won an inventors' competition and a few years later he floated the company on the stock exchange.}}</ref> worked on the concept from 1972 until 1983 and had a 3.5L four stroke engine performing as well as the similar petrol car engines of the day at typical road load conditions. A technical paper<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ewing|first=Peter|date=1982-02-01|title=The Orbital Engine|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4271/820348|journal=SAE Technical Paper Series|volume=1 |location=Warrendale, PA|publisher=SAE International|doi=10.4271/820348|url-access=subscription}}</ref> was presented to the [[SAE International|Society of Automotive Engineers]] in 1982, and is now part of their historic transaction collection.

A major reason for the good performance of this engine was the development of a unique and patented injection system directed into the combustion chamber which created a stratified charge combustion process.

Several auto makers from around the world showed great interest in the engine, however it was realised that there was still at least $100 million of development work required to commercialise the engine and the funding sources decided this was not a sound investment. Instead it was realised the same injection and combustion system could be adapted onto existing two and four stroke petrol engines and this work become the future of the company, being called the Orbital Combustion Process.<ref name="Ettlie2007">{{cite book|author=John Ettlie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAwP8belNFkC&pg=PA204|title=Managing Innovation|date=7 June 2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-38386-1|page=204|quote=Direct Injection: The Orbital Combustion Process An Australian company named Orbital Engine started working on cleaner burning two-stroke engines in the 1980s. The company developed a unique pump for direct injection systems, and at ...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1996-09-27 |title=How the Sarich vision stalled |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/how-the-sarich-vision-stalled-19960927-j8jj1 |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref>

During prototyping process, the engine has been installed in 3 vehicles: [[Toyota Kijang]] (3 cylinder unit), and [[Suzuki Karimun]]. (2 cylinder unit), installed by Sangeet Hari Kapoor when he was working in PT Wahana Perkasa Auto Jaya, which is a company under the Texmaco group.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kapoor |first=Sanget Hari |title=Vehicle Integration |url=https://www.geocities.ws/kapoor3/Lightvehicle.html}}</ref>  The 3 cylinder unit is also installed to 100 units of [[Ford Festiva|Ford Festivas]] in Australia, dubbed Festiva EcoSport, and the verdict is that while the car is somewhat more powerful than the Ford Festiva 1.3, it failed in to deliver emission compliance, efficiency, and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) reduction at same time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-11 |title=Why the Australian Orbital two-stroke engine never took off |url=https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/why-the-australian-orbital-two-stroke-engine-never-took-off |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=WhichCar |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roverdog |date=2020-07-29 |title=Engine History: The Sarich Orbital Engine - Sometimes A Dead End Can Lead Somewhere. |url=https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/engine-history-the-sarich-orbital-engine-sometimes-a-dead-end-can-lead-somewhere/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Curbside Classic |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Second generation Ford Festiva / Aspire {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection |url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8352863/second-generation-ford-festiva-aspire-car |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>