Volkswagen reveals new small petrol

Volkswagen has revealed its replacement for its current 1.4-litre turbo petrol at its annual engineering conference at the Vienna Motor Symposium.

The latest small-capacity turbo petrol grows in capacity to 1.5-litres but is said to be up to 10 per cent more efficient than the engine it replaces.

Available from late this year, the new engine called EA211 TSI evo will initially will be available with either 96kW or 110kW with up to 200Nm of torque from a diesel-like 1300rpm.

Featuring a high compression ratio of 12.5:1 the new engine can run on the Miller combustion cycle. There’s also a new common-rail injection system that can inject fuel into the combustion chamber at up to 350 bar pressure.

Claimed to be a world first is the new variable turbine geometry on the small petrol that, Volkswagen claims, allows the compressor to deliver high charge pressure from low engine speeds allowing maximum torque to occur 35 per cent lower in the engine range.

Finally the small engine also features cylinder deactivation technology inherited from the last generation of the current 1.4 TSI.

High power 110kW 1.5-litre variants of the small turbo petrol also comes with, what’s VW calls ‘APS-coated’ cylinder walls. APS is described as a fine-grain spray of powder that help create tiny pockets of engine oil on the cylinder walls that’s said to reduce friction and wear.

Boosting efficiency further is the introduction of numerous new heat management features that includes turning off the water pump during the warm-up phase to allow the engine to rapidly reach operating temperatures.

It’s not known which car the engine will be introduced to first, although the current Golf is the most likely candidate.