Spark Engine

A Spark Engine (スパークエンジン Supāku Enjin) gives a Transformer a Super Mode and incredible powers to go with it.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Car Robots cartoon

At a point when the 3 Car Robo Brothers were trying to cheer up a forlorn Gelshark, Speedbreaker suggested that Gelshark should undergo a Power Up like the one given to him and his brothers by God Magnus's Energon Matrix. When describing the nature of their Power Up to Gelshark, the brothers referred to a side effect that could rapidly wear their bodies out, as they didn't yet have enough control over their new powers. Speedbreaker noted that this side effect conflicted with a health diagnosis that confirmed the brothers' Spark Engines to be in working order, to which God Magnus explained that the brothers' rapid fatigue by the Power Up was due to the Energon Matrix's power being meant only for those of the Convoy Class rather than any ordinary Transformer. Gelshark's Blues

Super Spychanger Lottery

The Spychangers were granted Spark Engines to give them their own Super forms. The Secret of the Birth of the Super Spychangers

Ask Vector Prime

According to a story heard by Vector Prime at Axiom Nexus, the concept of the Spark Engine was developed by Doctor Daichi Ōnishi. In 2002, it was perfected with the use of go-brillium, an invention of Doctor Ōnishi's colleague Doctor Haruma Gō, in response to the invasion of Earth by the Mutants. The scientists thus upgraded the only Autobots left on Earth, the Spychangers, with Spark Engines, turning them into the Super Spychangers, who gained incredible powers. Super Art Fire gained pyrokinesis, Super Ox received super strength, Super Wars was imbued with invulnerability, Super Counter Arrow discovered amazing speed, Super Eagle Killer could fly, and Super X-Car gained the capability to manipulate gravity. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/01

2001 Robots in Disguise toy bios

When Side Burn received a Spark engine, his speed and acceleration increased to infinite levels, and he gained the ability to teleport short distances on the highway. Robots in Disguise Deluxe Side Burn toy bio Prowl added one to his configuration to enhance his mobility and searching ability. Robots in Disguise Deluxe Prowl toy bio ^[1]

Notes

• It is never stated outright, but the implication of how the 3 Car Robo Brothers first acquired their Spark Engines is that they received them upon being struck by the sudden burst of Energon Matrix energy from God Magnus in Episode 27 of Car Robots. This is made more apparent by the original Japanese toy bios of their Super Mode toys attributing the attainment of their new Super Modes in the episode to the three of them having been "newly outfitted with a Spark Engine". It's just that the Spark Engines are simply never mentioned when this happens (their sole mention in the cartoon came eight episodes later, in a clip show, even), nor are they ever actually shown onscreen, so what the Spark Engines even look like is completely unknown.
• Super Mode toys of Indy Heat and Wrecker Hook were also produced, but their lack of accompanying bios or any appearance in fiction means it is yet to be confirmed if they too ever acquired Spark Engines at some point.
• In the "Cybertron Convobat" comic, Bruticus is stated to possess a device inside his chest called a "Spark Circuit", which he uses to control the power of his three heads. It also appears to power up Bruticus in a manner similar to the Super Modes of both the 3 Car Robo Brothers and the Spychangers, complete with his colors changing just like theirs do. This implies a relation between the Spark Engines and Bruticus's Spark Circuit, but such has yet to be confirmed.

References