I know on some engines the valve timing can be electrically changed, or even the valves forced into an open position. Does anyone know if any such technique is used on the Prius ICE or not? It occured to me that there would be some energy lost when spinning up the ICE during starting, if there is compression to overcome in the cylinders while trying to do so. It seems that opening the valves initially would require less power to spin up the ICE. Just curious
VVTi--Variable Valve Timing Intelligent....about the most valve timing system available...so "Yes" is the answer to your question.
