It'll help any carbed engine to start...until all that petrol dissolves the oil off the bores and you lose compression!

No, I'm saying it doesn't really matter how it is started. Crank a warm engine with an ordinary starter. If it doesn't immediately fire, there's something wrong with it! It's an interesting way of starting an engine, but I don't see any tangible benefit.

Compressed air used to be a common way of starting truck engines, but then electric starter motors became light and reliable. Now, it only has novelty value.

It just looks like a way of hyping up the 'skyactive' engine range. It pees me off when the automotive sector think they've reinvented the diesel engine. The Heavy Duty sector were playing with turbocharged direct injection, low compression diesels 50 years ago, whereas the automotive sector only jumped on the bandwagon about 15 years ago.

Probably vapour lock in the carburettor. My carbed Toyota would start immediately without choke and would settle down to a steady 500 RPM idle. Inexplicably, it would always stall 30 seconds later. I decided to 'have a look' at the carb to see what was wrong with it and consulted the Heynes. There was a beautiful exploded diagram of the carburettor complete with its three thermostatically controlled choke regimes, idle jet, vacuum operated secondary venturi and mechanically operated accelerator pump and decided that I would leave it for another day. Mechanical marvel, but I'd take an SU any day!

I think they must be using combustion to assist the starter motor, rather than entirely displace it.

My guess is that when the engine is stopped the glow plugs are switched on. The accumulator rail can hold it's pressure if suitably designed. When you want to start the engine, fuel is injected into the relevant cylinder and the glow plug will act as an ignition source. Sounds a bit rough, like a diesel without an anti-shudder valve on switch off.

Black cabs normally have to switch off when waiting in the rank, and they're switching on and off all day long. Starters seem to work ok for them!

A mate had a Venom, evil thing. His party trick was letting others try and start it without breaking their ankle!