The Nissan VRH engine family consists of several racing engines built by Nissan Motor Company beginning in the late 1980s. All VRH engines are in a V8 configuration, with either natural aspiration or forced induction. Some VRH engines are loosely based on Nissan's production V8 engine blocks, including the VH and VK engines, while others were designed from the ground up for racing and share no components with production blocks.
In 1987, Nissan began work on an engine exclusively for race use; the result was the VEJ30 engine, developed by Yoshikazu Ishikawa. This engine was based on old technology, and was not a success. For 1988, the VEJ30 was improved by Yoshimasa Hayashi and renamed the VRH30. Changes included increasing the displacement to 3.4L (3,396cc).
This engine was, however, still based on the obsolete VEJ30, and development of the all-new VRH35[1] was started in parallel with the VRH30. In 1989, the VRH35 appeared as a new development engine and was used in the Nissan R89C.
The design of the engine was later sold to McLaren, where it served as the basis of their M838T and M840T engines (which were used in all of McLaren's line-up since the McLaren MP4-12C).[3][4]
VRH30T
A Nissan R88C that was powered by the VRH30T engine
The Caparo T1 engine is a high-performance automobile engine originally developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), and later produced by Menard Competition Technologies (MCT). It was used in the Caparo T1sports car from 2006 to 2015. The engine is derived from the Nissan VRH35ADEIndyCar engine. Originally called the Freestream T1, the Caparo T1 roadcar was intended to be powered by a supercharged 2.4-litre V8 that produced 480bhp (358kW).
After the project was taken over by Caparo, that engine was abandoned in favour of a naturally-aspirated, 32-valve, 3,494cc (213.2cuin)V-8, with cylinder banks at 90°, and a dry-sump oil system. It weighs 116kg (256lb). The engine's block and cylinder heads are made of aluminium alloy, and its cylinder liners are of Nikasil-coated aluminium. The crankshaft is machined from steel billet, and is a flat-plane design. The injection system is sequential, with two injectors per cylinder. Each cylinder also has its own throttle butterfly. Actuation of the titanium valves is by finger-follower. The MCT V8 is managed by a fully tunable Pectel SQ6 engine control unit, and uses a throttle-by-wire system.
The production engine generates a maximum power of 575hp (429kW; 583PS) at 10,500rpm and a maximum torque of 310lb⋅ft (420N⋅m) at 9,000rpm, giving the car a power-to-weight ratio of 1,223horsepower per tonne (912.8kW/t). An engine converted to methanol fuel is reported to have produced 700hp (522kW; 710PS).
In 2009, Caparo announced a high-performance version of the T1 called the Race Extreme, which seemed to retain the 3.5-litre engine base, but which was tuned to produce 625bhp (466kW). An even higher output version of the car announced in 2014 was called the Caparo T1 Evolution, with an engine with a claimed output of 700bhp (522kW). It is unclear what model engine this version is based on.
Other VRH engines
The VRH34A and VRH34B are naturally aspirated engines used by Nissan in their GT-RSuper GT race car from 2010.
The VRH34A is 3.4L (3,396cc) and produces 450–500PS (331–368kW; 444–493bhp) and over 290lb⋅ft (393N⋅m) of torque.
The VRH34B is 3.4L (3,396cc) and produces 500–530PS (368–390kW; 493–523bhp) and over 325lb⋅ft (441N⋅m) of torque.
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