Yamaha, established in 1887 as Nippon Gakki Co. Ltd, is a company that is very broad in scope but most well known for contributions in home audio and musical instruments. In 1955, the company launched a motor engineering offshoot (aptly named Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd) due to success in its foray into motorcycle engineering. You will find that Yamaha produces motorcycles even today. Hereon, any reference to Yamaha will primarily reference their motor engineering team.

Yamaha continued from 1955 to focus on motorcycle development. It was not until 1967 that the team branched into automobile motors. Yamaha has assisted in the development of a number of motors/vehicles for auto manufacturers both domestic (Ford) and international (Volvo). The main ones I want to discuss are these:

  • 3M (Toyota 2000GT, 1967-1970)
  • 4A-GE (Toyota Celica, Corolla, MR2, 1983-1993)
  • 1LR-GUE (Lexus LFA, 2010-2012)
  • 2UR-GSE (Lexus IS F, Lexus RC F, 2007-Present)
  • 3S-GE (Toyota Celica, MR2, Altezza, 1984-2000)
  • 3S-GTE (Toyota Celica, MR2, 1986-1993)
  • 2ZZ-GE (Toyota Celica, Lotus Elise, 1999-2006)
  • 4GR-FSE (Lexus IS250, 2005-2015)

You will find these are partnerships with Toyota. As of recently, prices for older Japanese vehicles are on the rise. I wish to particularly expand upon three of these engines, although I would probably enjoy any of them: the 4A-GE, the 3S-GE, and the 1LR-GUE. The 2UR-GSE gets an honorable mention.

4A-GE – AE86

The 4A-GE and AE86 deserve their own blog post. There is a solid cult following behind the AE86 due to the popularity of Japanese manga/anime Initial D. I won’t go into details on this, but a teen boy named Takumi becomes a drift legend after delivering tofu every morning for a half decade on fictional Mt Akina (Haruna in reality) in his father’s Toyota Corolla Trueno (chassis code AE86). The motor from this vehicle is the 1.6L DOHC 4A-GE.

I want to preface this comment with: I have never actually driven a car with this motor–I’ve only seen videos. The car is not fast, by any stretch of the imagination. The “blue top” motors in the American models were rated at around 115 HP. If you want to get to any sort of reasonable speed, it will take some time to get there, but it will sound fierce doing it. The exhaust note of the car gets the blood pumping. I also want to note this is Toyota’s earliest implementation of their VVT (Variable Valve Timing, similar to Honda’s VTEC) technology. This motor is what I generally envision when I think of the Japanese sportscar and its continuing legacy.

3S-GE – Altezza RS200

The 3S-GE was co-developed with Toyota and Yamaha primarily for the Toyota Celica platform. I note the BEAMS (Breakthrough Engine with Advanced Mechanism System) designation from their 1997 Celica and MR2 (known as the red top) as well as the 1998 model Toyota Altezza RS200 (known as the black top). Brief research shows the black top motor is frequently swapped from the 4A-GE in the AE86 chassis for a few more ponies. I assume the black top is preferred due to the RWD inclination. Similar to the 4A-GE, the exhaust note is fantastic. Also similar to the 4A-GE, both red and black top motors implement variable valve timing, however this 3S-GE leverages the more evolved VVT-i (intelligent VVT). In fact, the black top motor features dual VVT-i where variable valve timing is implemented with both intake and exhaust cams. The BEAMS motor is rated around 200 HP.

1LR-GUE – Lexus LFA

For all intents and purposes, the Lexus LFA is simply a pipe dream and simply unattainable. The car was only produced for two years and only 500 vehicles exist. The car was priced in the stratosphere brand new: $375,000. The engine therein is the 1LR-GUE, a 552 HP V10 motor with 4.8 liters of displacement. The motor was designed to redline at 9k RPM. The motor was also confirmed to have its exhaust note tuned with Yamaha music/sound experts to sound like a formula one racecar. I wish more motors were tuned like this, but this is the only one (as far as I know) that was developed in such a fashion. The motor features dual VVT-i technology.

2UR-GSE – Lexus RC F

This honorable mention deserves regard. The 2UR-GSE is a collaboration between Toyota and Yamaha for the Lexus IS F, RC F, GS F, and LC 500 models. Note–all UR model engines feature dual VVT-i technology. This particular motor is a 5L naturally aspirated V8. I’m curious to test drive one of these some day, and I suppose I am in luck as the RC F and LC 500 are current models. The GS F just recently wrapped production this year but that is just as well–I have no interest in this sport sedan. I have only nominal information on the RC F model and honestly, was not aware it was a cooperative effort with Yamaha until just this day.

I’m unclear on whether further collaborations will occur in the future, namely between Toyota and Yamaha for auto motors, but I am certainly keen on the prospect.