Comment by CRConrad
5 years ago
Much more common with pushrod engines, where the camshaft is situated close to the crankshaft; less so with overhead camshafts. Though I think some very high-revving sports and competition engines have gears driving overhead cams; IIRC the McLaren TAG F1 turbo V6 (by Porsche) back in the 1980s was one example.
The engine used in the Ferrari Enzo and Maserati MC12 is a notable example:
https://36.media.tumblr.com/8a928fcccf1b41e82be0273ccbe2005a...
Yup, beautiful. The TAG/Porsche looked quite similar IIRC.
And, given your nick, the OHC Volvo B18/B20 can't go unmentioned: Dunno if this was standard back in the day or if it was unique to this engine, but it had an interesting combination of materials. The smaller gear on the crankshaft was steel, but the larger one on the camshaft was made out of some weird bakelite-like stuff; as I recall, with some sort of fibrous reinforcement in it.
(OK, if you're not a Swedish motor enthusiast, you may be wondering "WTF does my nick have to do with that?" A: The B18 was used in the Volvo Amazon.)