Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
I saved that shot of the engine mock up....when I try to explain for folks how those "corn cobs" were configured they just stare at me.
These things are a maintenance nightmare, and you can see why, but I think they are also the apogee of the piston world in terms of power. So, you trade complexity for power.
The owners of that mock up have a bunch of strange stories on what that engine is that they feed to the inquisitive. They do have fun with it.