GM’s European arm has announced the development of a new 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 113hp (115PS) that will make its debut on the Opel (Vauxhall in the UK) Adam city car at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, before it goes on sale in early 2014.
Dubbed the 1.0 SIDI Turbo, the three-cylinder unit is the first in an all-new family of three and four-cylinder direct-injection gasoline engines with displacements between 1.0- and 1.6-liters.
Opel said the 1.0-liter force-fed engine produces the same output as its naturally aspirated 1.6-liter inline-four, but its maximum torque of 166 Nm (122 lb-ft) from just 1,800 rpm is almost 30 percent higher at the same rpm.
Furthermore, teamed with all-new six-speed manual gearbox that’s 30 percent lighter than its predecessor, fuel efficiency on the Adam is improved by 20 percent compared to Opel’s current 1.6-liter naturally aspirated power unit. GM’s German brand added that it also expects the new engine family to deliver CO2 emissions “significantly lower than 100 g/km”.
One of Opel’s engineers goals in designing the 1.0-liter engine was refinement:
“In developing this small engine, we not only set out to minimize fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, we also wanted to demonstrate that three cylinders can be just as refined as four or more,” explained Matthias Alt, Opel’s Chief Engineer, Small Gasoline Engines.
“We tackled at source the balance, noise and vibration issues typical of conventional three-cylinder engines, and we’re confident customers will be pleasantly surprised by the results. This is a very lively and refined three-cylinder engine which doesn’t compromise on driving fun,” he added.
The new family of small displacement engines will be used in other Opel / Vauxhall models as well.
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