While the vast majority of brands worldwide are betting on the complete electrification of their cars, in Japan they are taking a risk with the old internal combustion engines. Even if this means the greatest failure for them. Let’s see what this proposal from three automobile giants consists of.
What are the three car companies that join forces to create a common engine?
They have just held a conference in order to define what their next steps will be in designing a new engine for their cars. Who is it? Well, three of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world: Toyota, Mazda and Subaruwhich are icons in Japanese automotive engineering.
With this they seek to establish agreements that allow them to minimize production costs and, at the same time, increase their design efficiency. It is noteworthy that until now they had been working independently on the “signature engines” that would represent their brands.
A common engine for the three brands: a colossal effort
This new engine, in which the three brands joined their engineering efforts, It is smaller than the ones their cars currently have, although they have nothing to envy of their older brothers in terms of power and performance. They will also allow lower hoods.
In this way, this change means greater freedom for designers, especially when it comes to aerodynamics. On the other hand, they also have the common purpose of integrating electrical parts such as batteries and propulsion systems with these new engines.
It should be noted that, until now, each brand was focused on the design of a different engine technology. For example, Subaru shows a 2.0-liter boxer machine that develops a power of 12.3 kW and lithium-ion batteries. Something like a disguised prototype of the Crosstrek.
As for Toyota, they were in the design phase of their 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine, which they claimed was going to be very high in thermal efficiency and performance. For its part, Mazda had continued to improve its rotary engines, a technology on which they had opted.
This engine, which is common for cars from all three brands, brings together the best of the research carried out by these companies. This has brought drawbacks, such as the fact of its integration with the propulsion and transmission system.
They do agree on one thing: that the machine must be internal combustion with a hybrid energy source. Likewise, not only is it smaller than what we are used to, it will also be lighter. At this point, those involved say it will be between 10 and 20% lighter.
Why is this engine said to be the biggest failure in the history of cars?
This statement is based on the modern trend of everyone moving in the direction of electric cars. Since the engine that the three brands are designing is internal combustion with hybrid fuel. That is, a hybrid gasoline and electric engine.
In this sense, the biggest failure of this engine, if considered that way, is because even if its performance is increased by minimizing its emissions, the latter will always be there. It is worth remembering that the EU agreed that by 2035 it will prohibit the sale of cars with CO2 emissions.
Given all of the above, all we have to do is wait for these three brands to become aware and enter the redesign phase of their car engines. To do this, they must follow the global trend of targeting electric machines in their entirety.
