Difference in Coils for Electronic Ignition & Mechanical Ignition

The distributor distributes a high voltage to each cylinder in the order required, there is no electronic equivalent.

You could put separate coils on each cylinder. That is done with motorcycles. One coil for each cylinder and one ignition system for each pair of coils - one spark is "wasted" to save. the complexity of additional points or pickups and drive circuitry, adjustments etc..

I think early Fords used free running mechanically interrupted coils for each cylinder. Modern engines can also use this - but they run hot and inefficient. I seem to remember seeing some "emergency" system on sale that works using this idea.

Ignition coil turns ratio may be different for different drive systems.

In auto-speak, an "electronic ignition distributor" is a device which retains the high-voltage rotating spark distribution system of a traditional distributor, but replaces the traditional points & condenser of a Kettering ignition with some form of electronic ignition (often capacitive discharge, but possibly just a transistorized set of "points").

So, if you happen to speak the same language as all the auto parts guys in the United States, there is, indeed, an direct electronic equivalent.

It's also done in many cars these days, for the same reason. The Chevrolet LS-1, I believe, uses this.

The operative word is "may". Some do, by chance. Some use exactly the same coil, by design. Some capacitive discharge systems use coils with the same turns ratio just fine, but can dump a lot more power through the coil -- particularly at high RPM -- than a standard coil can handle. So you can use your stock coil right up until the moment that it lets out the magic smoke (or magic oil).

This drives a conventional coil just dandy, better than with points, no magic smoke...

Using this for the inductor...

GM cars in Australia have done this for many years now 3 coils for 6 cylinders, all electronic, no moving parts.

A friend of mine in the PDX area runs a consulting business. He used to run a company that makes CDI ignitions. His CDI circuit would pump something like 10x the energy into the plugs as a conventional Kettering ignition, and it makes a conventional coil HOT.

They sold specially constructed and heat-sunk coils to go with their CDI modules.

So has Ford in the US (wife's '00 has this setup).