Which current production car has the oldest engine in it?
Discussion
Okay, so after reading the thread about underpowered engines, I got to wondering which car which is currently on general sale in the UK as brand new that has the oldest (designed) engine in it? I always find it interesting that manufacturers use some really old engines sometimes in cars(often diesels), and hide them under swathes of plastic to give them the appearance of a modern engine, but underneath it all sits a motor designed back in the 1970s or whatever.
Does anyone know of any models currently out there that have such motors nestling inside them? Or even a rather bizarre car/engine match?
For example,
I had a Ford Scorpio diesel once and after buying it found out that the engine in it was in fact an old italian diesel engine design for motor boats!
-R
Does anyone know of any models currently out there that have such motors nestling inside them? Or even a rather bizarre car/engine match?
For example,
I had a Ford Scorpio diesel once and after buying it found out that the engine in it was in fact an old italian diesel engine design for motor boats!
-R
noosh said:
lankybob said:
Defender? Doesn't the TD5 go way back?
Isn't it a new(ish) Ford tdci based engine?Surely it has to be some left field Indian or Chinese type creation?
My vote would also be on the 6 3/4 Rolls Royce/ Bentley engine.
Depends whether you mean an identical engine to one used 20/30/40 years ago, or a development/derivative of that engine.
You could go one way and say the oldest engine still in use is the very first internal combustion engine every produced, as everything since then has been a development of it.
You could another way and say that if an engine has had different valves/linings/pistons put in, then it's not the 'same' engine.
My Z4MC has an s54b32 engine in it, which is a derivative of the s50b30 engine from 1991 - but it's changed so much that it's no the 'same' engine - and is a derivative of the M50 engine.
The Hemi V8 has around since the early 1950s - but that's a 'style' of engine rather than a specific engine. Many US companies have used their own variation of it - although most have been around since the early 50s.
You could go one way and say the oldest engine still in use is the very first internal combustion engine every produced, as everything since then has been a development of it.
You could another way and say that if an engine has had different valves/linings/pistons put in, then it's not the 'same' engine.
My Z4MC has an s54b32 engine in it, which is a derivative of the s50b30 engine from 1991 - but it's changed so much that it's no the 'same' engine - and is a derivative of the M50 engine.
The Hemi V8 has around since the early 1950s - but that's a 'style' of engine rather than a specific engine. Many US companies have used their own variation of it - although most have been around since the early 50s.
The bikers have got the cars beaten here, Harley Davidson have been using the same engine since the 1920's 
Surely for most European and American cars emissions legislation has killed off most of the older designs, but elsewhere there are people making older designs, eg the Brazilians on;y stopped making the air cooled beetle engine a few years ago.
Surely for most European and American cars emissions legislation has killed off most of the older designs, but elsewhere there are people making older designs, eg the Brazilians on;y stopped making the air cooled beetle engine a few years ago.
davepoth said:
Bentley Mulsanne, I think. The engine dates back to 1959.
I know the 6.75l is ancient but I thought the engine in the Mulsanne was brand new - I seem to recall reading somewhere the last Brooklands was the last Bentley to use the original 6.75 engine; everything else going forward is new. 
Wow, seems there are some that are older than I suspected! I had a quick look at the Bentley Mulsanne, and it would seem it received an all-new engine in 2009 so that's a no-go. But if the Jeep still uses the straight 6 then that could be the winner!
ETA: Apparently the Jeep engine ceased use in new models in 2006.
So - so far the oldest I can definitely trace back is the Fiat FIRE engine which was first used in 1986! It has had fuelling changes naturally, and changes to valves (MultiJet) but remains basically the same design.
The Peugeot/Citroen PSA TU engine was also first developed in 1986 and since developed in the same way, but basically the same engine
Can anyone beat those?!
ETA: Apparently the Jeep engine ceased use in new models in 2006.
So - so far the oldest I can definitely trace back is the Fiat FIRE engine which was first used in 1986! It has had fuelling changes naturally, and changes to valves (MultiJet) but remains basically the same design.
The Peugeot/Citroen PSA TU engine was also first developed in 1986 and since developed in the same way, but basically the same engine
Can anyone beat those?!
Edited by robsa on Saturday 25th February 15:33
I don't think you could call a side valve engine and an overhead valve engine the same at all, even if the blocks are the same. Even if they did nothing else but change the heads - it's a fairly fundamental attribute of an engine. A bored or stroked version of another engine would be less different, really.
I think all the really old engines have been terminated by EU5 regs. Perhaps in India or the ex Soviet countries you could find an 80s Japanese 4 in some modern. The Mexican Nissan Tsuru, for example, uses a 1597 cc Nissan engine that was first used in the Sentra/Sunny in 1986.
I think all the really old engines have been terminated by EU5 regs. Perhaps in India or the ex Soviet countries you could find an 80s Japanese 4 in some modern. The Mexican Nissan Tsuru, for example, uses a 1597 cc Nissan engine that was first used in the Sentra/Sunny in 1986.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff