one thing that you should look at is square boring and oversquare boring. This is when the bore is nearly the same as or larger than the stroke. This, for example, is how a Suzuki 1000cc engine can rev up to 12,000 rpm, while having a piston speed 2% faster than a Honda S2000 engine at 8300 rpm...
Not an engineer, but has anyone seen the experiment where a saucer shaped reflective disc is launched into the air by a high powered laser? While the height it reached was only like 20-30 ft, it was from ground level.
Anywho, are there any estimates on acceleration?
Probability of tears or...