A conventional piston engine, whether Otto Cycle or Diesel Cycle, uses the same primary mechanism: the slider-crank. The CCI abandons the slider-crank and instead utilizes two counter-rotating crankshafts, and instead of a single piston/cylinder there are three cylinders, each with their own pistons. Below is a depiction of a conventional engine on the left compared to a CCI engine sized to be of equal power.