Engine With Attached Axial Gap Type Rotating Electric Machine

A vehicle drive unit, comprising:

• an engine having a crank case with a crank shaft operatively disposed therein, the crank shaft being configured to be driven by a piston to rotate about a center axis;
• an axial gap type rotating electric machine attached to the engine, the axial gap type rotating machine comprising (a) a rotor fixed to an end of the crank shaft that extends outside of the crank case, the rotor including a plurality of permanent magnets that are orthogonal to the center axis, and (b) a stator fixed to the crank case with the crank shaft inserted therethrough, the stator including a magnetic flux generating area that faces the permanent magnets in the axial direction, wherein the stator includes a first stator that has first teeth that form the magnetic flux generating area and a second stator that has second teeth, and wherein a gap between the first teeth and the second teeth can be varied to vary magnetic resistance by rotating the second stator around the center axis relative to the first stator so that the second teeth rotate relative to the first teeth.