Gordini was a self-taught tuner and performed wonders on very under stressed engines of the 40s, 50s, and early 60s. With the arrival of the Cosworth, more scientific tuning methods eclipsed the old tuners. He kept at it for a few more years but his engines were always down on power compared to the new competition.
He had some very peculiar ideas. One being the central spark plug being in its own chamber with passages leading to either side of the combustion chamber, sort of a crazy dual plug set-up. Renault bought him out and used his name for “high performance” versions. Some actually hp, some racing stripe put-one.
True Hemi combustion chambers are antiquated and inefficient. Squish is one thing but swirl really changed the game. That is one thing that the crossflow’s flat spot provides. I’d leave it in.
Forgive me if I sound down on Gordini. Actually lots of tuners and companies badly bungled the transition to 4 valve chambers. Suzuki, Ducati, Honda, Yamaha and others all had major issues and took years to sort them.
