A V8 is an engine with eight cylinders mounted on a crankcase featuring two banks of four cylinders, each sharing a common crankshaft. This layout forms a V-shape. Each cylinder in the engine contains a piston regulated by the crankshaft. The angle of intersection between the cylinder banks varies, as engineers must balance complexity, manufacturing, servicing, and packaging concerns.
Leon Levavasseur patented the first V8 engine in 1902 and called it the “Antoinette” after the daughter of one of his financial backers. He first installed the engine in competition speedboats and early airplanes in 1904 and produced it on a limited basis until 1912. The Rolls-Royce Company manufactured the first V8 engine for use in automobiles, the Legalimit, used briefly between 1905 and 1906. In 1914, Cadillac began making the first V8 engine for American production cars and adopted the V8 as its standard engine for many years.
