During development, a horizontally opposed engine had been considered due to the harsh, cold conditions of Manchuria where the car would be deployed initially. The vehicle needed to be durable and easy to maintain, and a flat engine had advantages in the torque production needed to operate all four wheels. Air cooling also solved the problem of available cooling water and engine ruggedness. Kurogane also manufactured motorcycles, and keeping the engine as air-cooled helped with parts availability. The engine used for production was a Kurogane V1-AF motorcycle engine, with a bank angle of 45°, a V-type 2-cylinder OHV forced air-cooled engine with an engine displacement of 1.3 – 1.4 L developing @ 3,300rpm. It was a simple design, while the British made Sunbeam Motorcycle may have been used in reference to its development. The Japan Internal Combustion Engine Company was building three-wheeler trucks and motorcycles, using a single-cylinder engine of their "JAC” brand “Zaimasu" model motorcycle (zaimasu means “I will be there”) as the base engine used to develop the V2 engine. The front grille had a small hole to insert a handcrank to manually start the engine should the starter or battery fail.