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Overhead camshaft engine
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== History == === 1900–1914 === Among the first overhead camshaft engines were the 1902 [[Maudslay Motor Company|Maudslay]] SOHC engine built in the United Kingdom<ref name="Culshaw"/>{{refpage|page=210}}<ref name="Boddy"/>{{refpage|page=906}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title= Maudslay|last= Georgano|first= G. N.|author-link= G. N. Georgano|page= [https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000unse_v2r4/page/407 407]|encyclopedia= The New Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885 to the Present|editor-last= Georgano|editor-first= G. N.|year= 1982|orig-year= 1968|publisher= E. P. Dutton|location= New York|edition= Third|isbn= 0525932542|lccn= 81-71857|ref= none|url= https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000unse_v2r4/page/407}}</ref> and the 1903 [[Marr (automobile)|Marr Auto Car]] SOHC engine built in the United States.<ref name="Marr Auto Car Company">{{cite web |url=http://www.marrautocar.com/Marr_Auto_Car_Company/Welcome.html |website=www.marrautocar.com |title=Marr Auto Car Company |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411094907/http://marrautocar.com/Marr_Auto_Car_Company/Welcome.html |archive-date=11 April 2018}}</ref><ref name=Kimes>{{cite book|last1=Kimes|first1=Beverly Rae|title=Walter L Marr: Buick's Amazing Engineer|year=2007|publisher=Racemaker Press|isbn=978-0976668343|page=40}}</ref> The first DOHC engine was a Peugeot inline-four racing engine which powered the car that won the [[1912 French Grand Prix]]. Another Peugeot with a DOHC engine won the [[1913 French Grand Prix]], followed by the ''Mercedes-Benz 18/100 GP'' with an SOHC engine winning the [[1914 French Grand Prix]]. The [[Isotta Fraschini Tipo KM]]— built in Italy from 1910–1914— was one of the first production cars to use an SOHC engine.<ref>{{cite web |title=1913 Isotta Fraschini 100-120 hp Tipo KM 4 Four-Seat Torpedo Tourer - Auction Lot |url=http://www.motorbase.com/auctionlot/profile/2008/08/15/316-1913-isotta-fraschini-100-120-hp-tipo-km-4-four-seat-torpedo-tourer/ |website=www.motorbase.com |access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref> === World War I === [[File:Napier Lion cambox.jpg|thumb|DOHC cylinder head of a 1917–1930 [[Napier Lion]] aircraft engine]] During World War I, both the [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] and [[Central Powers]]; specifically those of the [[German Empire]]'s ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'' air forces, sought to quickly apply the overhead camshaft technology of motor racing engines to military aircraft engines. The SOHC engine from the ''Mercedes 18/100 GP'' car (which won the 1914 French Grand Prix) became the starting point for both Mercedes' and Rolls-Royce's aircraft engines. Mercedes created a series of six-cylinder engines which culminated in the [[Mercedes D.III]]. Rolls-Royce reversed-engineered the Mercedes cylinder head design based on a racing car left in England at the beginning of the war, leading to the [[Rolls-Royce Eagle]] V12 engine. Other SOHC designs included the Spanish [[Hispano-Suiza 8]] V8 engine (with a fully enclosed-drivetrain), the American [[Liberty L-12]] V12 engine, which closely followed the later Mercedes D.IIIa design's partly-exposed SOHC valvetrain design; and the [[Max Friz]]-designed; German [[BMW IIIa]] straight-six engine. The DOHC [[Napier Lion]] W12 engine was built in Great Britain beginning in 1918. Most of these engines used a shaft to transfer drive from the crankshaft up to the camshaft at the top of the engine. Large aircraft engines— particularly air-cooled engines— experienced considerable thermal expansion, causing the height of the cylinder block to vary during operating conditions. This expansion caused difficulties for pushrod engines, so an overhead camshaft engine using a shaft drive with sliding spline was the easiest way to allow for this expansion. These bevel shafts were usually in an external tube outside the block, and were known as "tower shafts".<ref>{{Cite book|last= Thorpe|first= Leslie Aaron|title= A text book on aviation: the new cadet system of ground school training|volume= 3|pages= 14–15|year= 1936|publisher= Aviation Press|url= {{Google books|aVluAAAAIAAJ|A text book on aviation: the new cadet system of ground school training, Volume 3|page=14|plainurl=yes}}|access-date=27 February 2015|quote= The overhead camshafts are driven by bevel gears and vertical shafts known as tower shafts.}}</ref> <gallery mode="packed" heights="180px" style="text-align:left"> Hispano Suiza 8 A Brussel.jpg |1914–1918 [[Hispano-Suiza 8|Hispano-Suiza 8A]] SOHC aircraft engine Hispano-suiza-V8 220PS.jpg |1914–1918 [[Hispano-Suiza 8|Hispano-Suiza 8Be]] SOHC aircraft engine with "tower shafts" at the rear of each cylinder bank Later Mercedes D III Valvetrain.jpg |Later production (1917-18) [[Mercedes D.III]] upper valvetrain details sketch, its design features copied by the [[BMW III]] and the Allied [[Liberty L-12]] engines Liberty L-12-2.jpg |Detail closeup of a [[Liberty L-12]]'s upper valvetrain, showing the similarity to the later-production Mercedes design </gallery> === 1919–1944 === [[File:1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix engine.jpg|right|thumb |1933 [[Bugatti Type 59]] straight-eight grand prix racing engine ]] An early American overhead camshaft production engine was the SOHC straight-eight engine used in the 1921–1926 [[Duesenberg Model A]] luxury car.<ref>{{cite book| last = Mueller| first = Mike| year = 2006| chapter = Chapter 6 - Chariot of the Gods Duesenberg Straight Eight| chapter-url ={{Google books|69qYnoohrMYC|American Horsepower: 100 Years of Great Car Engines|page= 49|plainurl= yes}}| title = American Horsepower 100 Years of Great Car Engines| url ={{Google books|69qYnoohrMYC|American Horsepower: 100 Years of Great Car Engines|page=51|plainurl= yes}}| location = St. Paul, MN USA| publisher = Motorbooks| pages = 51| isbn = 978-0-7603-2327-4| lccn = 2006017040| access-date =2015-02-02}}</ref> In 1926, the [[Sunbeam 3 litre Super Sports]] became the first production car to use a DOHC engine.<ref name=Autocar197710>{{cite journal| journal = [[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] |volume = 147 (nbr 4221)|title =Talking of sports cars: Sunbeam three-litre| pages = 69–71| date = 1 October 1977}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Georgano |first1=G.N. |title=Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930 |date=1985 |publisher=Grange-Universal |location=London}}</ref> In the United States, Duesenberg added DOHC engines (alongside their existing SOHC engines) with the 1928 release of the [[Duesenberg Model J]], which was powered by a DOHC straight-eight engine. The 1931–1935 [[Stutz_Motor_Company#Stutz_Motor_Car_Company_of_America,_Inc.|Stutz DV32]] was another early American luxury car to use a DOHC engine. Also in the United States, the DOHC [[Offenhauser]] racing engine was introduced in 1933. This inline-four engine dominated North American open-wheel racing from 1934 until the 1970s. Other early SOHC automotive engines were the 1920–1923 [[List_of_Wolseley_automobiles#Inter-war_cars_1920_to_1940|Wolseley Ten]], the 1928-1931 [[MG 18/80]], the 1926–1935 [[Singer_Motors#Models|Singer Junior]] and the 1928–1929 [[Alfa_Romeo_6C#6C_1500_(1927–1929)|Alfa Romeo 6C Sport]]. Early overhead camshaft motorcycles included the 1925–1949 [[Velocette#Velocette_'K'_series|Velocette K Series]] and the 1927–1939 [[Norton CS1]]. === 1945–present === [[File:1948 Crosley COBRA engine OHC.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.8 |1946–1949 [[Crosley#Crosley_CoBra_(1946–1949)|Crosley CoBra]] SOHC engine]] The 1946–1948 [[Crosley#Crosley_CC_Four_(1946–1948)|Crosley CC Four]] was arguably the first American mass-produced car to use an SOHC engine.<ref name="Simanaitis">{{Cite journal|last=Simanaitis|first=Dennis|title= Tech Tidbits|journal= [[Road & Track]]|date= January 1994|page= 121|editor-last= Bryant|editor-first= Thos L.|publisher= Hachette Filipacchi Magazines|location= Newport Beach, CA US|volume= 45|issue= 6|issn= 0035-7189}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://crosleyautoclub.com/EngineTree/Crosley_Eng_Tree.html |title=Crosley Engine Family Tree - Taylor Years |website=www.crosleyautoclub.com |access-date=19 December 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://crosleyautoclub.com/EngineTree/Crosley_Eng_Tree-1.html|title=Crosley Engine Family Tree - CoBra Years |website=www.crosleyautoclub.com |access-date=19 December 2019 }}</ref> This small mass-production engine powered the winner of the 1950 [[12 Hours of Sebring#Overall winners|12 Hours of Sebring]].<ref name="Simanaitis"/>{{refpage|page=121}} Use of a DOHC configuration gradually increased after World War II, beginning with sports cars. Iconic DOHC engines of this period include the 1948–1959 [[Lagonda straight-6 engine|Lagonda straight-six engine]], the 1949–1992 [[Jaguar XK engine|Jaguar XK]] straight-six engine and the 1954–1994 [[Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine|Alfa Romeo Twin Cam]] inline-four engine.<ref name=EuropeanCarWeb.com>{{cite web |url=http://www.europeancarweb.com/features/0209ec_twin_cam_analysis/index.html|title=An Echo of the Past — the history and evolution of twin-cam engines|date=February 2009|access-date=29 August 2012 |website=www.EuropeanCarWeb.com|publisher=European Car Magazine, Source Interlink Media|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303061544/http://www.europeancarweb.com/features/0209ec_twin_cam_analysis/index.html|archive-date=3 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.alfisti.co.uk/boxerpage.htm|title= Technical- Boxer History|website= www.alfisti.co.uk|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130329040043/http://www.alfisti.co.uk/boxerpage.htm|archive-date= 29 March 2013}}</ref> The 1966-2000 [[Fiat Twin Cam engine|Fiat Twin Cam]] inline-four engine was one of the first DOHC engines to use a toothed timing belt instead of a timing chain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Old Fiat ad with Aurelio Lampredi|url=https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/19f9mk0fozzvppng.png |website=www.kinja-img.com |access-date=31 January 2015}}</ref> In the 1980s, the need for increased performance while reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions saw increasing use of DOHC engines in mainstream vehicles, beginning with Japanese manufacturers.<ref name=EuropeanCarWeb.com/> By the mid-2000s, most automotive engines used a DOHC layout.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
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