Nissan really did build a remarkably compact, 400-hp three-cylinder for its ZEOD RC Le Mans hybrid prototype. But the available evidence does not establish where a supposedly lost engine was found, when it resurfaced, or whether the specific engine in a discovery report has been authenticated. What can be confirmed is the original DIG-T R’s stated specification and intended role.
What Nissan’s DIG-T R was
Nissan announced the DIG-T R on January 27, 2014, as the combustion engine for the ZEOD RC, its Le Mans hybrid prototype. The company listed a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder producing 400 horsepower and weighing 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Those are Nissan’s published figures, not independently verified test results. Nissan’s announcement also gave approximate dimensions of 500 mm tall, 400 mm long and 200 mm wide at the base.
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The package was intended to fit within the ZEOD RC’s compact chassis alongside its hybrid system. Nissan presented the engine as an engineering demonstration, with development lessons potentially informing future road cars; its announcement does not say that the DIG-T R entered production.
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Nissan described a planned hybrid strategy in which the ZEOD RC would complete one lap using electric power during each roughly one-hour fuel stint, then rely on the combustion engine. That was the company’s stated operating plan, not evidence that every competition stint followed that exact sequence.
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The DIG-T R was therefore not simply a standalone road-car engine. Its role was part of a prototype race-car system that could alternate between electric-only running and combustion-engine operation.
Has the “found” engine been verified?
The phrase “finally been found” appears in a Reddit search-result title for a video associated with Mike Fernie. That lead does not establish the engine’s discovery location or date, who owns or holds it, or whether the physical engine shown is the original DIG-T R. Without an inspectable discovery account or authentication record, those details should be treated as unconfirmed rather than reported as fact.
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That uncertainty does not make the engine itself a rumor: Nissan’s 2014 announcement documents the DIG-T R and its stated specifications. It does mean that the rediscovery story and the identity of any particular engine are separate claims.
Don’t confuse it with Nissan’s later 1.5-liter three-cylinder
Nissan also describes a much later 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder, the ZR15DDTe, but it is a different engine with a different job. In a September 18, 2025 article, Nissan identifies it as a dedicated electricity generator for third-generation e-POWER vehicles and reports 42% thermal efficiency. Nissan’s e-POWER engine article discusses that engine, not the ZEOD RC’s DIG-T R.
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| Engine | Stated purpose | Published measure in the cited material | System role |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIG-T R | Combustion engine for the ZEOD RC Le Mans hybrid prototype | 400 hp and 40 kg (88 lb), per Nissan’s 2014 announcement | Part of a hybrid prototype described as switching between electric-only running and combustion-engine operation |
| ZR15DDTe | Dedicated electricity generation for third-generation e-POWER vehicles | 42% thermal efficiency, reported by Nissan in 2025 | Gasoline engine generates electricity for the traction motor and battery |
The figures are not a head-to-head comparison: horsepower and mass for the DIG-T R are different measures from the ZR15DDTe’s reported thermal efficiency.
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