I’m Dejan – Chief Instigator behind GNKWRX and the DUETEC Engine
I started my engineering career in the late 1990s, leading the development of a rotary valve system for a start-up based in Munich, Germany. Though it took some time for the full vision to take shape, this early project laid much of the groundwork for the core concepts underlying the DUETEC engine.
DUETEC was never about reviving or glorifying the two-stroke, but about creating the ultimate performance piston engine from a clean slate, designed to harness the full potential of advanced technical ceramics—my favorite engineering material. The goal was to strip away decades of accumulated mechanical complexity and adopt ceramics-based material and combustion technologies to unlock a whole new level of thermodynamic capability. The two-stroke cycle ultimately provided the ideal foundation for incorporating these technologies, which in turn helped eliminate the perceived shortcomings of the two-stroke principle.
The material and combustion technologies DUETEC relies on have long been developed and independently validated within the industry, yet their potential was never tapped into. If their continued disregard by the legacy industry shows anything, it’s how deeply entrenched the ecosystem is in incrementalism, risk aversion (Dieselgate notwithstanding), and maximizing short-term gains from marginal technical advancements at the expense of genuine technological innovation.
This reality forged GuNKWoRX’s defiant identity (inspired by Lockheed Martin’s infamous Skunkworks) and strategic positioning as a community-driven venture. The name DUETEC signifies the overDUE TEChnological shift this engine represents, while referencing both its inherent hybrid design (DUE TECnologie — Italian for “two technologies”) and its fundamental architecture as a two-stroke compressor system (DUE TEmpi Compressore).
Below is an overview of the key technologies underpinning DUETEC:
“3D-printed” Carbon-Ceramic rotary valve proved the viability of using additive manufacturing to create high performance ceramic engine parts.
Rotary valve controlled test engine based on a Java speedway unit during assembly – no oil in the cylinder head, minimal part count.
Dyno testing confirmed the rotary valve’s superior flow capacity, drastically lowered parasitic losses, and substantially increased RPM potential.
Carbon pistons have demonstrated significant potential to enhance performance and reduce emissions in numerous independent projects.
Porous media combustion is nothing short of combustion wizardry. But a viable integration with conventional ICEs is impossible due to the limitations imposed mainly by poppet valves
The technology for 3D-printing lattice structures from ceramic materials is readily available, offering full control over the design parameters of porous media combustion inserts.
Laser-induced plasma ignition has been successfully developed by industry and research. Its adoption is hindered by high cost and comparatively minimal gains in legacy engine architectures.
Carbon-ceramic cylinder sleeves are standard in demanding industrial applications but dismissed as overkill and too costly for internal combustion engines.
Ceramic valves and wrist pins are a mature technology, but their high cost, exacerbated by the large quantities required, makes them uneconomical in conventional engine.