ENGINEERING

Engineeredin Japan.

技術は、思想のかたち。

Rotary, boxer, variable valve timing, turbocharging, four-wheel steering, AWD and hybrid — principles drawn as abstract diagrams, dates and records cited.

01Special engine stories

Principles.

技術と、その原理。

01 / 08

Rotary

ロータリー

Principle

A triangular rotor turns inside an epitrochoid housing; each flank completes intake, compression, combustion and exhaust as it sweeps around — no pistons, no valves.

On record

1967
The Mazda Cosmo, produced from 1967, launched Mazda's Wankel rotary engine and was, along with the NSU Ro80, one of the first production cars with a two-rotor Wankel engine.
Mazda Cosmo — Wikipedia (English)
1991
The Mazda 787B No. 55, driven by Johnny Herbert, Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot, won the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans; it was the first Le Mans win by a Japanese manufacturer and remains the only win by a car without a reciprocating engine.
Mazda 787B — Wikipedia (English)

02 / 08

Boxer

水平対向

Principle

Cylinders lie flat in two opposed banks, pistons moving towards and away from each other. The layout is low and short, keeping mass near the car's centre line.

On record

1972
Subaru released the four-wheel-drive Leone station wagon in September 1972.
Subaru Leone — Wikipedia (English)
1995
Subaru won the WRC manufacturers' championship in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and its drivers won the drivers' title in 1995 (Colin McRae), 2001 (Richard Burns) and 2003 (Petter Solberg).
Subaru World Rally Team — Wikipedia (English)

03 / 08

VTEC

可変バルブタイミング

Principle

Two sets of cam lobes per cylinder: mild profiles for low-speed tractability, then a hydraulic pin locks the rockers onto a high-lift profile as revs rise.

On record

1989
Honda's DOHC VTEC was introduced in Japan in the 1989 Honda Integra XSi with the B16A engine.
VTEC — Wikipedia (English)

04 / 08

Straight-six

直列6気筒

Principle

Six cylinders in a single row give inherent primary and secondary balance — the smooth heart of many Japanese GTs, from the 1960s to the turbo era.

On record

1967
The Toyota 2000GT, first shown at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show, was designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha and built under contract by Yamaha from 1967 to 1970.
Toyota 2000GT — Wikipedia (English)
1989
The R32 Skyline GT-R, launched in 1989, used the RB26DETT engine together with the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system and Super HICAS four-wheel steering.
日産・スカイラインGT-R — ウィキペディア日本語版

05 / 08

Turbo

ターボチャージャー

Principle

Exhaust gas spins a turbine that drives a compressor on the same shaft, pushing more air into the cylinders than atmospheric pressure alone.

On record

1979
The turbocharged 2.0-litre L20ET engine appeared in the Nissan Cedric and Gloria in 1979, the first turbocharged engine offered on the Japanese market.
Nissan Cedric — Wikipedia (English)

06 / 08

Hybrid

ハイブリッドと電動化

Principle

An engine and electric motors share the work; energy recovered under braking is stored in a battery and reused. Battery EVs remove the engine altogether.

On record

1997
The Toyota Prius went on sale in Japan on 10 December 1997 as the first mass-produced hybrid car, and was introduced worldwide in 2000.
Toyota Prius — Wikipedia (English)
1999
The Honda Insight was introduced in Japan in November 1999 as Honda's first model with the Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system.
Honda Insight — Wikipedia (English)
2009
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car was launched for fleet customers in Japan in July 2009 and for the general public on 1 April 2010.
Mitsubishi i-MiEV — Wikipedia (English)
2010
The Nissan Leaf battery-electric car has been produced by Nissan since 2010; production began at the Oppama plant in Yokosuka.
Nissan Leaf — Wikipedia (English)

07 / 08

4WS

4輪操舵

Principle

The rear wheels steer a few degrees — opposite to the fronts at low speed for agility, in the same direction at speed for stability.

On record

1985
Nissan's HICAS rear-wheel steering was first fitted to the R31 Skyline (Japanese Wikipedia gives 1985; English Wikipedia cites the 1986 Skyline GTS).
HICAS — ウィキペディア日本語版
1987
The third-generation Honda Prelude, released in Japan on 9 April 1987, offered a mechanical four-wheel steering system, described as the first of its kind in a mass-production passenger car.
Honda Prelude — Wikipedia (English)
1989
The R32 Skyline GT-R, launched in 1989, used the RB26DETT engine together with the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system and Super HICAS four-wheel steering.
日産・スカイラインGT-R — ウィキペディア日本語版

08 / 08

AWD

四輪駆動

Principle

Drive is split between both axles, from part-time 4WD with a transfer case to electronically controlled systems that vary torque in real time.

On record

1972
Subaru released the four-wheel-drive Leone station wagon in September 1972.
Subaru Leone — Wikipedia (English)
1989
The R32 Skyline GT-R, launched in 1989, used the RB26DETT engine together with the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system and Super HICAS four-wheel steering.
日産・スカイラインGT-R — ウィキペディア日本語版

016Engines

Engineeringicons.

心臓部を、ひとつの展示として。

Engines are catalogued as exhibits in their own right, not as a line in a spec sheet. Codes, layouts and displacements are all sourced.