Megatron (engine)

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The Megatron engine was the name of a rebadged 1500 cm³ 4-cylinder BMW turbocharged Formula One motor that powered the Arrows team for the 1987 and 1988 seasons, as well as Ligier for 1987 only.

Its name derived from a subsidiary of United States Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance, Megatron, Inc., founded by long-time F1 aficionado John J. Schmidt, who coined the phrase "Horse racing may have been the sport of kings, but auto racing is the sport of corporations". USF&G was the primary sponsor for the Arrows team and the financier of the engine project. The Megatron programme ended as a result of a change of Formula 1 engine rules which banned turbocharged motors at the end of 1988. The Arrows team reverted to using 3500cm³ Ford-Cosworth V8 normally aspirated powerplants for the 1989 season.

Some fans speculated that Megatron, Inc. had in 1986 won a court battle from the rights of the name against Hasbro and Takara, forcing them to write off the Transformers character named Megatron.^{[citation needed]}