Toyota's first engine, the Type A, wasn't entirely Japanese—it was based heavily on a Chevrolet straight-six.
Toyota engines have long been known for their durability and dependable performance. Over the company's nearly 90-year history, Japanese engineers have developed an enormous variety of engines. But the very first production engine to carry the Toyota name had distinctly American roots.
When ambitious engineer and businessman Kiichiro Toyoda began building cars in the mid-1930s, he faced a serious problem. Toyota lacked both the experience and the resources to develop a competitive engine entirely from scratch.
The obvious solution was to borrow someone else's engineering.
More specifically, Toyoda looked to American automakers, whose technology was among the most advanced in the world at the time.
Toyoda initially planned to manufacture Ford's flathead V-8. The powerful and reliable engine was already well known in Japan, since many Ford vehicles sold there were equipped with it. But after calculating the cost of putting an eight-cylinder engine into production, Toyoda abandoned the idea.
There was another problem. Manufacturing an eight-cylinder block was considerably more complicated than building a six-cylinder block. So the future founder of Toyota Motor began looking for an inline-six with the right combination of power, torque and simplicity.
Toyoda expected to build both passenger cars and trucks, so the engine had to meet several requirements. It needed roughly 50 to 60 horsepower, plenty of low-end torque and a straightforward design that could be manufactured without excessive expense.
He didn't have to look very far.
The answer was Chevrolet's Stovebolt straight-six.
The first-generation Stovebolt was introduced in 1929 as a replacement for Chevrolet's popular but increasingly outdated four-cylinder engines. The new 194-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine featured a simple design and a substantial margin of durability.
Its low 5.0:1 compression ratio also made the Chevrolet remarkably tolerant of low-quality gasoline, an important advantage in an era when fuel quality could vary considerably.
In 1934, Chevrolet introduced a larger and more powerful version of the Stovebolt. The 207-cubic-inch six displaced 3.4 liters and produced 60 horsepower.
That engine became the blueprint for Toyota's first production powerplant, the Type A.
The similarities went far beyond general design. The Toyota engine was so closely based on the Chevrolet that its pistons, valves, crankshaft and several other components were interchangeable with those used in the American engine.
There were some differences, however.
The Toyota Type A used a Japanese-made carburetor and a redesigned intake manifold. Those changes helped the Japanese engine produce slightly more power, with output reaching 65 horsepower.
Production of the Toyota Type A began in 1935. The engine found its first home under the hood of Toyota's first production vehicle, the Toyoda Model G1 truck.
Kiichiro Toyoda had hoped to begin mass production with a passenger car, but Japan's rapid militarization created enormous demand for trucks and made the commercial vehicle a more practical starting point.
Regardless, Toyota had successfully put its first production engine into mass production.
In 1936, production began on Toyota's first passenger car, the Toyoda Model AA. As you might expect, it was also powered by the Type A.
The engine's story didn't end there.
In 1938, Toyota officially acquired a license for the Chevrolet 207 engine. The design was subsequently converted to metric dimensions and received several relatively minor updates. Output increased to 75 horsepower, and the revised engine was renamed the Type B.
The Type B proved remarkably durable and remained in production until 1956.
The original Chevrolet Stovebolt family had an impressive lifespan of its own. Through continuous development and modernization, Chevrolet's inline-six engines remained in production in the United States for decades, with the Stovebolt lineage ultimately surviving into the 1990s.
Toyota's first engine, then, was hardly an entirely Japanese invention.
Its roots were firmly planted in Detroit.