JohnK Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Noticed an article in the December Car & Driver on a prototype Subaru/Toyota sport sedan that C&D seemed to like a lot - particularly with regard to the "engineering comes first" approach used in the development of the car. What caught my eye is that it uses an updated Subaru*+Toyota** 4-cyl engine and 6 speed trans in a front engine - rear drive configuration, and claims 210 HP. When Honda stopped making the S2000 I was afraid that the end of the model would mean that no more such high performance drive train assemblies would be available in an out-of-the-box form. But this Subaru BRZ looks like a winner as a new source of Seven-applicable drive trains. Anyone got an inside line as to the dimensions of the engine and how broad the bell housing is? Definitely something to keep an eye on and fingers crossed over. * FB20 ** D4S dual port and direct-injection technology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi7ot Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Being a flat four, I doubt that it would fit a narrow bodied 7. A friend of mine had a 911 2.0 flat six in his standard dimension 7 years ago. being wide and air-cooled, the side panels on the car were..abbreviated. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikker Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I was wondering if you went up just a little in size, like say the dimensions on the Caterham SV, if that would open up any other drive-train options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 With all of the older BMW I-4 motors/5 speed trans units available I haven't seen them pop up on this forum as project power plants. Some of those older fours would really haul without too much work and plenty of parts available. Are they too expensive to work on? With some of the pricing I see here for the Ford four mods it wouldn't seem that BMW was out of the range. Not really sure about the motor dimensions but from what I've seen of then in use they don't look any taller tham my S2000 motor. Just checking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikker Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 (edited) The prices I see on the Ford drive-train options from Caterham are mind boggling. In fact I wonder why they do not offer more options and choices, seems like many of the Japanese variants might offer more for less. Edited November 2, 2011 by rikker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.moore Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) Being a flat four, I doubt that it would fit a narrow bodied 7. A friend of mine had a 911 2.0 flat six in his standard dimension 7 years ago. being wide and air-cooled, the side panels on the car were..abbreviated. m I always thought having the valve covers protruding from the side of the body would be kind of a cool look assuming the engine would fit past the chassis tubes. I've been meaning to measure the width of the engine in my STI for comparative purposes - no way I'd ever pay the street price of an STI drivetrain but its always interesting to look. I would figure this new engine wouldn't be much wider especially since it still has to fit between the production car's strut towers and there isn't exactly a lot of extra space with the current EJ family. If there was a decent RWD transmission option the current SOHC 2.5Ls at ~175 hp would be a fun choice. Wonder if the EJ and the new engine will share the same bellhousing pattern? Edited November 4, 2011 by a.moore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1turbofocus Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I feel the 2.3 Duratec is a very good choise for the Caterham , they make very good TQ , all Alum and many parts to upgrade them with Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Budlite Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 :iagree: The 2.0 ltr too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilo Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 The prices I see on the Ford drive-train options from Caterham are mind boggling. In fact I wonder why they do not offer more options and choices, seems like many of the Japanese variants might offer more for less. Perhaps in shedding some light on that: When Lotus (under Fresh New management ) decided to fit the Elise with a Toyota Drive unit.. there was much gnashing of teeth and criticism. That fact that it was a far better engine than any available in the UK and was already a durability/emissions tested to be acceptable unit for the North American market was ignored by the critics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersportsp Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 The prices I see on the Ford drive-train options from Caterham are mind boggling. I would suggest considering not looking at Caterham for Ford options directly. Zetec and Duratec short-blocks can be had for very little money. It is all the somewhat bespoke bits on them that get them into the 200+ HP levels that make them start to get expensive. Honda is about your only other option for putting out well over 200 hp in a normally aspirated four without galactic levels of spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now