Ford Vtec baby!

[nonovurbizniz]

You could use an abs style hydrolic system to trigger the cam event...

I'm sure it's being worked on in multiple manufacturers facilities...

You could also use high powered selonoids to push the valve open instead of the cam...

The only thing i see becoming a problem is the increased effort needed to both open and close the valves at higher rpm/load... but I'm sure that's more than attainable...

The main reason I think there hasn't been too much research in that direction is the inherent slope of power... IE going from VERY high lift to very low lift or vice versa isn't going to yield as much of a performance increase as a gradual steady increase in lift which is perfectly attainable with current cammed engines...

The thing I'm most impressed by automotively that I've read about is the constantly variable transmission that I believe audi is working on... that is a SICK idea.. and when you look at it it's a pretty simple devise too... can't believe no one came up with it till them.