Suck, squeeze, bang, blow. These are the four strokes of the reciprocating, internal-combustion engine (ICE) that Nikolaus Otto patented in the 19th century. The action of the intake valves that allow an engine to breathe and the exhaust valves that let it expel spent gases were, until very recently, defined by a shaft of eccentric lobes rotating half as fast as the engine?s crankshaft.
Cams still spin half as fast as the crank in the modern engine, but advances like camshaft phasing, or changing the relative opening and closing of valves in relation to the crank position, thus improving efficiency and performance, are commonplace. Honda?s VTEC actually changes the cam profile, increasing valve-event duration and lift at high rpm. BMW and Nissan have variable intake-valve lift systems that actually control the amount of intake air, as opposed to a throttle plate.
If you can imagine an engine free of the mechanical constraints of a steel camshaft (or four), you have the basics of the Koenigsegg Freevalve engine. As opposed to a camshaft dictating valve position, each valve has its own actuator controlling the valve position and timing. The idea has been around for years, and many firms have worked on bringing it to market, but supercar maker Koenigsegg has spent the last 13 years working on a camless head, and it just released this nifty video:

Freevalve from Freevalve on Vimeo.
There are more potential advantages to a cylinder head of this design than we can list....