Posted Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 11:02pm
Some automakers are trying to save the manuals while others are attempting to rescue the internal combustion engine. Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru held a joint conference to explain how decarbonization can be achieved without going all-in on EVs. Toyota has three new smaller and more efficient engines in the works. Mazda is pursuing single- and two-rotor engines. Here’s what Subaru is cooking up.
It has figured out how to keep its horizontally opposed engine alive in a next-generation hybrid system. During the conference, the company showed a prototype of its electrified boxer inside a camouflaged Crosstrek prototype. The outgoing setup relies on a parallel system where the engine and motor both power the vehicle. The new series-parallel layout will maintain a mechanical connection between the ICE and the wheels but the combustion engine will also serve as a generator to feed a battery that powers an electric motor.