The article highlights the energy issues of vehicle engines. The production of reciprocating internal combustion engines (ICE) is one of the most important areas of engineering, which has a significant impact on the solution of Russia's economic, social, defense, environmental, scientific and technical problems. The characteristics of an internal combustion engine largely determine the power, economy, weight and size characteristics, as well as the environmental performance of the ICE application objects. Today, the main direction of gasoline ICE development in the world is to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as well as other harmful components of exhaust gases (EG). In the nearest future and further, it will be reached through an increase in the share of turbocharged engines production accompanied by an increase in the ICE liter capacity and a decrease in its dimensions. The technical level analysis of modern engines and R&D results of the world leaders in automotive engine building including marketing research made it possible to formulate the following key requirements for the engines: the V8-V12 configuration in a hybrid version with a high-voltage electric machine; direct fuel injection with a central location of the nozzle; cylinder working volume - 540-560 cm3; average effective pressure - 24-26 bar; power density - 90-100 kW/l; specific torque - 180-200 N-m/l; environmental safety level - Euro-6d; minimum specific effective fuel consumption - 240-250 g/kW-h. A list of domestically produced components needed to create a new generation of engines is given.