Most of us think of a Boxer engine as one that has a flat layout for the operation of the propulsion needed for a car to perform the way it should.
The benefit to having an engine that lays flat is that it can be placed lower in the engine bay, take up less space and offers a lower center of gravity for the driving that needs to be done. This is the way that some brands are using and offering their engines for specific cars to allow for more of what we want when it comes to performance.
Where can you find boxer engines offered? Every model from Subaru has a boxer layout of either four or six cylinders. You’ll also find this setup in the Toyota 86, the Porsche 718 and the Porsche 911. This engine is built to be compact and offer reasonable power to make it easier for you to have the quality performance and power that’s needed, but there is a distinction between the term “boxer” and what a flat engine is, and that distinction is an extremely important part of what makes the boxer engine one of the favorites on the market. You’ll find this in many used vehicles but it’s still common in a number of new models coming out every year.
If an engine is a flat engine, it’s either a boxer or flat one (all boxer engines are flat but not all flat engines are boxers). In a flat layout, the engine uses shared crank pins for opposing pistons to allow them to move opposite each other. This layout is also referred to as a 180-degree V layout but is mostly called a flat engine. Ferrari has used flat-12 engines in the past which were simply the laid down version of the V-shaped engines to make it possible to have a more compact setup with a lower center of gravity.
Of course, Ferrari tried to confuse us with the Berlinetta Boxer by calling it a boxer when the engine was not really one. In order to be a boxer engine, every piston receives their own crank pin to allow the pistons to work opposite each other and move together like the gloves of an actual boxer. This is what gives the engine its name and allows for superb balance to be achieved when driving. Subaru has loved this engine layout for years and uses it to achieve greater balance for the vehicle to give is the driving dynamics you’ll admire.
If you want to see how the boxer engine works, check out the video below. You’ll see a 3D-printed Subaru engine that is set up to show you how this engine can work and what it does to give you the benefits of greater balance and a lower center of gravity. You can also admire the new 2018 model of the WRX that’s shown in the video and think about whether or not this is the car you’ll want to drive. Take a look at this video and learn what makes this type of engine so special and one that you can easily enjoy when you choose a true boxer engine.
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