Ford to Introduce 2-Cylinder Engine, and Smallest Turbocharged, Next Year
Ford Motor Co. will introduce its smallest turbocharged engine yet next year, and on the horizon are even tinier engines -- including two- and three-cylinder versions, the automaker's powertrain chief said Monday.
Ford's EcoBoost engine in action: The spray pattern, which comes from six pinhole-like openings in the injector, is carefully calibrated to optimize fuel burn. The cleaner combustion results in faster starts and lower emissions.
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"I think you'll see all of those things roll out," Samardzich said. "It's more than experimental."
Samardzich wouldn't talk about a timetable for such small engines or specify in what markets or vehicles they would first appear. But it makes sense that engines of that size would first be introduced in developing markets or in Europe, where small vehicles dominate.
Meanwhile, in 2010 Ford will introduce a new 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine with its EcoBoost turbocharging and direct-injection technology. The engine will go on sale late next year on the next-generation Ford C-Max, a family of Focus-derived small minivans.
Ford will sell the seven-seat Grand C-Max, the larger of the two body styles, in North America beginning around late 2011. But executives aren't saying whether the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine will power the Grand C-Max in North America.
The 1.6-liter EcoBoost is intended to replace naturally aspirated, large I-4 engines. Torque compares with a 2.5-liter I-4, officials said.
When Ford goes to even smaller engines, it will use technologies such as balance shafts to help solve noise and vibration issues, Samardzich said. Those problems are "manageable," she said.
The smallest EcoBoost engine that Ford has confirmed for North America is a 2.0-liter I-4 that goes on sale in 2010 in undisclosed nameplates. It is intended to replace 3.0-liter V-6 engines.
By 2013, Ford says, it will sell 1.3 million EcoBoost-equipped vehicles per year globally, with up to 750,000 in North America alone. Two-thirds of the volume will come from four-cylinder models.
- Posted by
- Scott Doggett September 15, 2009, 9:23 AM
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- Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy
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- Emissions, Ford EcoBoost Engines, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficient
Gerbil Power!
They should bring the 1.6 T here. 180 ft-lbs (about what a modern 2.5L NA would yield) is more than enough for an econobox. A 1.2L engine with 110 ft-lb per liter would be an easy replacement for the current Focus engine.
A small-displacement turbocharged engine is more complex to manufacture and could be more expensive than a larger non-turbo engine. There are also more complex reliability issues--a turbo engine isn't always less reliable, but there are more things that COULD go wrong, so there's a lot more engineering time that has to go in.
I don't think this is a good idea for Ford right now. I'd rather see them devise incremental ways of optimizing the power and economy of their existing engine families. GM got 40+ years out of both the '50s Chevy small-block and '60s Buick V6 designs that way.