Volvo's high-tech engine roll-out

The official handover of Volvo from current owner Ford to Geely is yet to take place, but the Swedish prestige car manufacturer is not letting the grass grow under its wheels. Taking a cue from Ford and Mazda, Volvo has developed a direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder engine for future passenger-car applications.

Named the Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection engine (GTDi), the 2.0-litre powerplant is officially slated to power the S80, V70 and XC60 SUV. The engine will reach Aussie consumers in 2011, although with the new S60 due to arrive here at the end of the year, we wouldn't put it past Volvo Australia to introduce the engine with that new model range.

Developing 149kW of power and 300Nm of torque (from as low as 1750rpm), the Euro 5-compliant engine employs variable timing for its DOHC valvetrain and is an oversquare design (87.5mm bore x 83.1mm stroke). Volvo intends to offer the engine coupled to either a conventional manual transmission or a six-speed Powershift (Getrag) twin-clutch transmission.

Driving through the Powershift transmission in the S80, fuel consumption from the engine is 8.3L/100km and the car will knock off the 0-100km/h sprint in 8.5 seconds.

The same engine/transmission combo in the V70 will use 8.4L/100km of fuel and reach 100km/h in 8.9 seconds. Available only with the Powershift box, the XC60 with the GTDi engine will consume 8.6L/100km and reach 100km/h in 9.6 seconds.

"We've succeeded in making a four-cylinder engine that is as powerful as a 2.5-litre five-cylinder unit, and it's also much more energy-efficient," says Magnus Jonsson, head of Product Development at Volvo Cars.

"This is very welcome both for those customers who want high performance as well as supreme driveability and for the environment that benefits from the improved fuel efficiency. One of the most important reasons behind the results is our new, patented turbo system that has been tailor-made for smaller energy-efficient engines."

Although the concept has already been adopted by both Mazda (DISI) and Ford (EcoBoost), the Volvo engine is only intended for use in Volvo cars, at the present. There's no word yet on whether the technology will be licensed or sold as a finished product to other companies, including the prospective owner of Volvo, Geely.

The GTDi engine is a joint development by Volvo, Borg-Warner Turbo System and steel component manufacturer Benteler Automotive. It relies on a sheet-steel inlet manifold and integrated turbocharger housing for light weight and better heat insulation qualities. This aids combustion efficiency and faster warm up for the catalytic converter.

"By combining direct injection and VVT with our new patented turbo system, we can offer an engine with low fuel consumption and low emissions, without having to compromise on performance or driving properties," says Jonsson.

"We have created an engine that is as efficient in the city as it is on the highway. And since the design is based on an already-existing engine concept, we can offer more car buyers a highly fuel-efficient alternative at a reasonable price."

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