engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
s produced by
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Colt-branded vehicles the company produced from 1963.
The engines were
overhead valve
An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...
iron-blocks, for gasoline and diesel use. The first digit after the ''KE'' denotes the number of cylinders,
straight-4
A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...
straight-6
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...
which was developed in 1964 for the new
Mitsubishi Debonair
The is a four-door executive sedan introduced by Mitsubishi Motors in 1964 to serve as their flagship passenger vehicle in the Japanese market. The word "debonair" means gentle, courteous, suave, lighthearted, or nonchalant.
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Overv ...
flagship sedan, receiving the KE6 prefix. The last digit is simply a serial, denoting which number engine it is. Some of these engines, such as the two-liter KE42, were further developed into overhead-cam engines and were named
Astron Astron may refer to:
* Mitsubishi Astron engine
* ASTRON, the Dutch foundation for astronomy research, operating the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and LOFAR
* Astron (comics), a fictional character, a member of the Marvel Comics group The E ...
.
As a large scale manufacturer, Mitsubishi had a wealth of experience building engines, both gasoline and diesel, in V and straight engine block configurations during the war. One of their many examples was the air-cooled A6120VDe air-cooled inline 6-cylinder 14.4 L diesel and the SA12200VD air-cooled V-12 diesel (21.7 litres).
Specifications
KE41
KE42
In 1973, the KE42 was upgraded to meet new emissions regulations and received the MCA (Mitsubishi Clean Air) name to reflect this. Power also increased by . This engine was developed into an overhead-cam unit, called the Astron 4G52.
KE43
KE44
KE45
KE46
KE47
The KE47 was largely replaced by the 2.4 liter Astron 4G53 in 1975.