In the two-cylinder Darracq, the steel cylinders were machined from solid, and auxiliary exhaust ports, overrun by the piston at the inner end of its stroke, were provided in the cylinder walls, consisting of a circular row of drilled holes--this arrangement was subsequently adopted on some of the Darracq racing car engines. The water jackets were of copper, soldered to the cylinder walls; both the inlet and exhaust valves were located in the cylinder heads, being operated by rockers and push-rods actuated by cams on the halftime shaft driven from one end of the crankshaft. Ignition was by means of a high-tension magneto, and long induction pipes connected the-ends of the cylinders to the carburettor, the latter being placed underneath the engine. Lubrication was effected by spraying oil into the crank case by means of a pump, and a second pump circulated the cooling water.

Another good example of this type of engine was the Eole, which had eight opposed pistons, each pair of which was actuated by a common combustion chamber at the centre of the engine, two crankshafts being placed at the outer ends of the engine. This reversal of the ordinary arrangement had two advantages; it simplified induction, and further obviated the need for cylinder heads, since the explosion drove at two piston heads instead of at one piston head and the top of the cylinder; against this, however, the engine had to be constructed strongly enough to withstand the longitudinal stresses due to the explosions, as the cranks are placed on the outer ends and the cylinders and crank-cases take the full force of each explosion. Each crankshaft drove a separate air-screw.