JDM Wheels & Automotive Industry News - Furious Customs Blog - Supra

Iconic engines that defined manufacturers

Posted by

When we talk about what makes a manufacturer recognizable, several things come to mind: looks, interior design, performance, etc. The most important thing however, is probably the engine. The beating heart of any car is what makes it unique and gives it character. The chassis plays a big role and so does the suspension, brakes and everything else, but it's the engine we most often fall in love with really. So, rather unsurprisingly, we associate a certain type of engine with a certain manufacturer. Although today, many manufacturers use a certain type of engine, the original maker is remembered and recognized for the effort. Here are some of the more iconic ones:


Subaru's Four-cylinder Boxer

Among the four-cylinder world, Subaru's boxer engine makes a true impression. The most used engine in the world is probably the inline four-cylinder, so we didn't bother to include any of them. Instead, we're starting the list off with one of the most legendary engines of all time: the horizontally opposed "Boxer" engine. Subaru has become well known for their use of only boxer engines, and it's arguably the four-cylinder that brought them all that glory. An Impreza WRX STI with a modified version of the engine won the world rally championship several times back in the mid 2000's, boosting the company's sales by a large amount. The sound a boxer engine makes is unique and can't be mistaken for anything else.

Toyota's Inline Six

Toyota isn't the only company to make inline six-cylinder engines. Far from it. BMW makes arguably even better engines today, but it's the old JZ platform that people are most fond of. Toyota did have a few other engines with different designations, but it's the JZ which proved to be the most reliable and effective. It was able to hold an incredible amount of power with unrivaled reliability. That's probably the reason JZ engines are still so sought after even today. Everyone is hoping Toyota will make a JZ successor one day, but with stricter emissions every year, it's looking less and less likely.

GM's V8

This engine needs no introduction. The LS engine has been in production for as long as there have been cars on the road. It's been shoved into almost everything GM makes at one point, and recently it's become so popular that it's been used as a crate engine for other project cars such as BMW, Toyota, Subaru and Mazda. The reason is rather simple. They're very reliable, parts can be found everywhere on the cheap, they can make a lot of power and perhaps more importantly, a lot of torque. The size is compact, so they can fit into virtually every car out there. 


Ferrari's V12

We could have included Lamborghini on this list, but since Ferrari started making cars first, we decided to go with them instead. The truth is that nobody buys a Lamborghini for its engine. You fall in love with their looks. If you want a big, shouty V12, you go to Ferrari. Traditionally, it's always been the case. Their flagship models have always carried a large V12, either in the back or in the front. The newest F12 Berlinetta is a showcase in what Ferrari is capable of when given freedom to do what they want. A large, front-engined GT car with 730 horsepower going to the back wheels, the way it should be. Who doesn't want that?

The brand new Toyota Supra

We're no strangers to the Toyota Supra. Furious Customs carries a lot of performance aftermarket parts for both the third (III) and fourth (IV) gen Supra. But if there's one thing that can get us more excited than jdm parts for a Supra, it's a completely brand new Supra. That's right, it's officially happening. Although there [...]

Read More »

Importing a JDM car to the U.S.

Like most of you already know, there is an import law which effectively banned the likes of the GT-Rs and Supras from entering the states. Well, that's now defunct... to a certain degree at least. Seeing as how it's 2016, cars made before 1991 can now officially be imported in the U.S. While this still [...]

Read More »

Why JDM cars have been on the up-rise

As many people (not just JDM fans) have noticed, cars over from Japan have seen an appreciation in their value unlike every other car. It's not just here in the US, but in Europe, Australia, and even Japan. The demand for them has been so large that entire businesses have been opened for the specific [...]

Read More »

The World of Drifting

With the popularity of drifting, especially in recent years, i thought i'd take the time and talk a little bit about that. With more and more drifting championships, with Formula Drift as the biggest one, it's normal that people would take interest in the sport. Drifting, in essence, is a driving technique where one intentionally oversteers [...]

Read More »

×
×