Land Rover unveiled its newest engine, and it’s one that you’re not expecting: a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder engine. This becomes the cornerstone in Land Rover’s first-ever Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) in the form of the Range Rover Evoque P300E and Discovery Sport P300E. The low friction, lightweight engine is joined by an electric rear axle motor giving it a total of 309 horsepower and 540 Nm of torque (the internal combustion engine alone delivers 200 horsepower). Together with a 15-kWh lithium-ion battery, it can run solely on electric power by up to 66 kilometers and return 71.42 km/L.
According to Land Rover, the Range Rover Evoque goes from 0-100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, while for the Discovery Sport, the figure stands at 6.6 seconds. In both cases, it can use electric power at speeds up to 135 km/h.
For those who still go off-road, these PHEVs are designed to take some punishment. With new Premium Transverse Architecture designed to accommodate a plug-in variant from the get-go, the battery is protected by a 6-mm steel under tray. Furthermore, it’s packaged beneath the cabin floor without compromising interior space.
The placement even improves dynamics, lowering its center of gravity by 6 percent and further optimizing the front-rear weight distribution.
The engine is mated to a new 8-speed automatic. Not only is it lighter than the 9-speed gearbox used in other models, but it’s specifically designed to match the PHEV’s power and torque delivery.
As part of its 100th anniversary, Mazda has been busy tugging at nostalgia such as coming up with models inspired by the R360 and also highlighting one of its crowning achievements: the mass-production of the rotary engine. On the surface, the Mazda PR seems innocuous enough, talking about the history of the RX-7. However, there are a couple of lines that stick out and we’ve taken the liberty to highlight it for you below:
“…the company developed a prototype Mazda2 EV with a small single-rotor engine used as a range extender. A similar system could find its way onto the Mazda MX-30...”
As the company’s first all-electric vehicle, the MX-30 packs an in-house developed battery-driven powertrain called e-Skyactiv. Together with a 35.5-kWh lithium-ion battery, it has a range of about 209 kilometers. Once fitted with the rotary engine as a range extender though, range is expected to more than double. Moreover, Mazda says a rotary engine is perfect as a range extender because it’s quiet, vibration-free, and extremely compact.
Aston Martin has released the first details of its in-house designed V6 engine which will replace the Mercedes-AMG-sourced V8s on its mid-engined sportscars from 2022.
Codenamed TM01, it’s Aston Martin’s first in-house designed engine since 1968. The 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 is electrified from the get-go. With that, the it promises to have more power and torque than ever before. The final figures are determined by the characteristic of each application, but it should at least match the current 503 horsepower, 685 Nm of torque outputs made by the M177 Mercedes-AMG engine.
Taking learnings from the Aston Martin Valkyrie project, the new V6 is developed with a “hot V” structure. This makes for a compact engine weighing less than 200 kilograms in total.
Naturally, the engine will be positioned directly behind the driver’s cabin and equipped with a dry sump system to guarantee the lowest possible center of gravity. The system will also deliver exceptional lubrication performance even during on-limit, high-speed cornering. It’s also designed to meet up to Euro 7 emissions requirements.
The new Aston Martin V6 engine will debut first on the Valhalla.
As carmakers face mounting pressure to improve their fuel economy and lower their emissions, they have responded by investing in downsized powertrains. Evidenced by automotive publication Wards’s 2020 10 Best Engines list, more and more winners in this list have opted for electrified engines. As a matter of fact, only one V8 remains on the list. The U.S.-based Wards chose the winners after evaluating 26 all-new or significantly improved engines and electric propulsion systems during everyday driving in metro Detroit, Michigan from October and November. Editors score each powertrain based on horsepower, torque, comparative specs, NVH management, observed fuel economy, and the application of new technology.
For the first time in 11 years, three inline-6s appear on the list, while four electrified powertrains make the cut for the third consecutive year. In alphabetical order (based on manufacturer), these are the recipients of the 10 Best Engines from Wards this 2020:
3.0L (B58) turbo I-6 382 hp (BMW M340i)
3.6L Pentastar eTorque V-6 mild hybrid 305 hp (Ram 1500)
2.3L High Performance turbo 4-cyl. 332 hp (Ford Mustang)
3.0L Duramax diesel I-6 277 hp (GMC Sierra)
6.2L V-8 490 hp (Chevy Corvette Stingray)
2.0L Atkinson I-4 212 hp total (Honda Accord Hybrid)
Single Motor Electric Propulsion System 150 kW (Kona EV)
1.6L turbo 4-cyl. 180 hp (Hyundai Sonata)
3.0L EQ Boost turbo I-6 362 hp (Mercedes GLE450)
2.0L VC-turbo 4-cyl. 248 hp (Nissan Altima)
The field of nominees includes some of last year’s 10 honorees. This year’s repeat winners are the BMW 3.0L turbo I-6, FCA Ram Pentastar eTorque, Honda 4-cyl. hybrid, Hyundai battery-electric, and Nissan VC-Turbo 4-cyl.
To be eligible this year, vehicles must have a base price no higher than USD 65,000 (~ P 3.327 million).
According to Wards, the 2020 list of winners “reflects an industry that is trying to do it all with heart-pounding fire breathers, capable pickups that don’t need V8s, family cars that don’t need V6s and a battery-electric CUV that is fun to drive.”
If you want to know what the best-selling diesel-powered car brand is in Japan, you’ll be surprised to know that it’s Mazda. And the carmaker has celebrated a very important milestone: it has sold more than 500,000 cars equipped with Skyactiv-D there. Opting for an unconventional approach to diesel engines, the Skyactiv-D uses a low compression ratio to greatly improve driving performance, fuel efficiency, and environmental performance. Since its introduction in Mazda vehicles in February 2012, it has sold 500,558 vehicles equipped with this cutting-edge engine. This accounts for about 52 percent of all diesel-powered cars sold in Japan (total cumulative sales of diesel-powered cars from 2012 to 2019 stands at 961,683).
Mazda says its Skyactiv-D powertrain has garnered a strong following due to its “overwhelming torque, and economy that makes you happy every time you refuel.” It’s also been recognized for its outstanding quietness.
In the Philippines, the 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D is offered in both the Mazda CX-5 AWD Sport and the Mazda6 Signature.
Gasoline-electric hybrids are typically known for one thing: environmentally-conscious motoring. With that, expect sky-high fuel mileage and low tailpipe emissions at the expense of a sordid driving experience. Luckily for enthusiasts, Honda realized that the typical hybrid solution also didn’t fit well with their sporty nature. And so, they’ve developed this: the Sports Hybrid Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive or Sports Hybrid i-MMD. While the name itself is clunky, the technology behind it is amazing. It automatically switches between three driving modes to provide the highest possible efficiency when driving. These modes comprise: EV Drive, where the lithium-ion battery supplies power to the electric propulsion motor directly; Hybrid Drive, where the engine supplies power to an electric generator motor, which in turn supplies it to the electric propulsion motor; and Engine Drive, where the engine is connected directly to the wheels via a lock-up clutch.
In most urban or city driving situations, the i-MMD will shuffle between Hybrid Drive and EV Drive. In Hybrid Drive, excess power from the petrol engine can also be diverted to recharge the battery via the generator motor. EV Drive permits pure-electric propulsion and can give a zero emissions range of about two kilometers depending on the driving condition and battery charge.
Meanwhile, the Engine Drive mode is the most efficient set-up for cruising at higher speeds and it can be supplemented by an on-demand power ‘boost’ from the electric propulsion motor to supplement engine torque under certain conditions. At a 60 km/h cruise, the i-MMD will typically run in EV Drive for more than half the time. At 100 km/h, it will be in EV Drive for approximately one third of the time.
The software ‘brain’ of the i-MMD system decides when to shuffle between these modes to maximize efficiency, without disturbing the driver or requiring any further thought or input from them.
Now, while the set-up resembles other hybrid vehicles—where an Atkinson cycle gasoline engine, propulsion motor, generator motor, and power control unit are all located under the hood, and a lithium-ion battery back housed under the trunk, the i-MMD does have one innovation: a fixed gear transmission.
Rather than using a conventional transmission, a single fixed-gear ratio creates a direct connection between moving components, resulting in a smoother transfer of torque. This format means Honda’s system is more compact than a planetary eCVT typically found in other hybrid vehicles, as well as being more refined.
Moreover, the transfer between power sources, including the engine stop-start function, is virtually imperceptible. The smooth transfer of torque means there is no driveline shunt or undesirable feedback through the pedals or steering wheel, and the near-silent powertrain means a vehicle equipped with i-MMD boasts outstanding NVH.
The first application of the i-MMD system happens to be larger Honda vehicles, particularly the likes of the CR-V and the Accord. In this set-up, the 2.0-liter i-MMD makes a respectable 184 horsepower and 315 Nm of torque—figures that match their conventionally-powered counterparts featuring the 1.5-liter VTEC Turbo engine. But, based on WLTP test protocols, it does 18.87 km/L. However, the more interesting application of the i-MMD system is found in the Civic-based Honda Insight. With a smaller, 1.5-liter displacement, it still makes a healthy 151 horsepower and 267 Nm of torque—yet, it delivers 22.1 km/L. Though Honda hasn’t confirmed it just yet, if this is the very same engine that they’ll fit in the all-new Jazz Hybrid, then you’re looking at a formidable pocket rocket.
As part of their 2030 Vision, the Honda Sports Hybrid i-MMD will form the cornerstone of their plan to reduce their emissions. Yet, it’s equally clear that while they want to produce environmentally-sound vehicles, they still aren’t willing to give up their sporty nature yet. By coming up with unique methods to electrify their vehicles such as the i-MMD system, Honda is able to chart a unique path, driven by one thing: their challenging spirit.
With Mazda now joining the Electric Vehicle bandwagon with the MX-30, is the era of the Internal Combustion Engine or ICE finally over? Not so fast, according to Hidetoshi Kudo, Executive Officer in charge of R&D Administration, Product Strategy, and Technical Research Center. While Kudo-san acknowledges that the peak era for the internal combustion engine is near (2020 if the Energy Technology Perspective report by the International Energy Agency is used as basis), he says there’s no reason to turn away completely from fossil fuels just yet.
Not only does the very same report say that the internal combustion engine will still account for a majority of new car sales even by 2050 (though they’d be electrified in one form or another), but from Mazda’s Well to Wheel perspective, which takes into account not just what energy source is used but how it’s generated, going electric won’t be a one size fits all solution. Furthermore, while others say structural limitations (lack of charging stations) is a primary reason why everyone is slow to adopt EVs, Mazda thinks its down to an EV’s functional limitation, such as lack of range—again, it’s about not being a one size fits all thing. What’s needed, Kudo-san says, are multiple solutions to meet the requirement of reducing emissions.
With that in mind, Mazda’s approach to powertrain development will be a two-prong one. For countries that generate energy through renewable means, Mazda will offer battery electric vehicles. For countries that generate energy using fossil fuels, they will offer improved internal combustion engines (with some form of electrification) that’ll produce even lower fuel consumptions and emissions than the current Skyactiv series engines such as Skyactiv-X.
Moving on, Kudo-san has an interesting explanation as to why the MX-30 didn’t go for record-breaking range. Again, this is all down to Mazda’s Well-to Wheel approach. Conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of lithium-ion batteries, they calculated the amount of emissions each step generates from materials extraction to manufacture, maintenance, and finally, disposal.
They realized that emissions proportionally increase to battery size, and at the 50-kWh mark, the amount of emissions from battery production actually exceed the emissions from vehicle production. Moreover, because traction batteries need replacement at the 160,000-kilomter mark (on the average) to maintain performance, using a 95-kWh battery will actually exceed a diesel vehicle’s emissions from an LCA perspective by 50 percent. In the case of the MX-30, going for a 35.5-kWh makes its LCA emissions lower than its comparative ICE counterpart. Regardless, the resulting 209-kilometer range is still way more than the 50 kilometers of driving a typical EV owner does on a daily basis.
What Mazda proposes instead to increase the range of their EVs would be to adopt a rotary engine as a power generator. Being lightweight and compact in size, it’s ideal for this purpose. And even by plopping down a Wankel, it will still result in lower LCA emissions compared to electric vehicles outfitted with larger batteries. In addition, rotary engines can be adopted quickly to run on a variety of fuels such as LPG, CNG, and even hydrogen making it virtually future-proof.
Volvo Cars and Geely intend to merge their existing combustion engine operations into a stand-alone business in order to establish a new global supplier that will seek to develop next-generation combustion engines and hybrid powertrains. The proposed new business would clear the way for Volvo to focus on the development of its all-electric range of premium cars. Volvo Cars is building an entirely electrified product range, as part of the company’s ambition to put sustainability at the core of its operations. By the middle of the next decade it expects half its global sales to be fully electric and the other half hybrid, supplied by the new unit.
For Geely, the planned new entity means technologically advanced and efficient combustion engines and hybrid powertrains would be available to Geely Auto, Proton, Lotus, LEVC and Lynk & Co. The planned new stand-alone business can also supply third-party manufacturers, providing possible growth opportunities.
The proposed new business is intended to be an attractive employer for approximately 3,000 employees from Volvo Cars and around 5,000 employees from Geely’s combustion engine operations, including research and development, procurement, manufacturing, IT, and finance functions. No reductions in the workforce are anticipated.
Both Volvo Cars and Geely are in the process of carving out their ICE (internal combustion engine) operations into new units within their respective organizations, as a first step towards a merger of the two into a combined new stand-alone business.
Volvo Cars believes the electrification of the automotive industry will be a gradual process, meaning there will be significant ongoing demand for efficient hybrid powertrains alongside fully electric offerings.
GM Powertrain Thailand, General Motors’ (GM) first diesel engine plant in Southeast Asia, recently achieved its 500,000th production milestone since production officially started in 2011. It is the first GM facility in the world to produce the four-cylinder Duramax turbo-diesel engine. Both the 2.5-liter and 2.8-liter Duramax engines currently used in the Chevrolet Colorado and Trailblazer are produced in this facility. They are fairly advanced with a variable-geometry turbocharger, aluminum cylinder head, integrated oil cooler, high-pressure common-rail fuel delivery system for increased output, performance, fuel efficiency and durability. They also feature an EGR cooler for emissions compliance, capable of up to Euro-5 ratings, plus a balancer shaft and laminated lower oil pan for lower NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) during operation.
During the ceremonies, GM revealed that their operations in Thailand is the only facility that fully manufactures the 2.8-liter Duramax diesel engine. Moreover, 20 percent of their total production or around 80,000 engines were exported in 2018 alone.
The Hyundai Motor Group is pushing its engine technology to a new direction with the announcement of the world’s first Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) technology which will go into both future Hyundai and Kia vehicles starting with the Sonata’s 1.6-liter Smartstream G engine. Before CVVD, an engine’s performance and efficiency is governed by variable valve control tech that adjusts the timing of valve opening and closing, and the depth of the valve’s opening. Hyundai takes a new direction by actually adjusting how long a valve stays open with CVVD.
When the vehicle is maintaining a constant speed and requires low engine output, CVVD opens the intake valve from the middle to end of the compression stroke. This helps to improve fuel efficiency by reducing the resistance caused by compression. On the other hand, when engine output is high, such as when the car is driving at a high speed, the intake valve is closed at the beginning of the compression stroke to maximize the amount of air used for the explosion, enhancing torque to improve acceleration.
All in all, Hyundai says that CVVD should achieve a further 4 percent boost in performance and 5 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. Furthermore, it cuts emissions by an impressive 12 percent.
The new CVVD technology will debut first in the group’s Smartstream G1.6 T-GDi engine. This 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine makes 180 horsepower and 265 Nm of torque.
Other key features of this new engine include a Low-Pressure Exhaust Gas Recirculation (LP EGR) system that re-directs burnt emission gas to the front of the turbocharger, rather than the intake system, to increase efficiency under high loads. It also has a stronger direct fuel spray system that achieves 350bar compared to the current 250bar. Engine friction is also reduced by 34 percent.
The Smartstream G1.6 T-GDi will debut in the second half of 2019 and will mark the first in a series of new Hyundai and Kia vehicles that feature the engine.
Pop quiz: what’s the most powerful production 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine? If you think it’s something from Japan likes Subaru or Honda, think again. The answer is Mercedes-Benz. In its highest form of tune, the 2.0-liter M 139 produces, get this: 421 horsepower while its torque is a stagger 500 Nm. This means the diminutive engine, built in Affalterbach by Mercedes-AMG produces 211 horsepower per liter—ranking ahead of many well-known supercar engines.
Apart from its performance figures, this new engine is “torque shaped” by its engineers to develop its peak torque at an accessible 5,000 to 5,250 rpm range, while its maximum redline is maintained at 7,200 rpm—similar to a normally-aspirated engine.
The M 139 2.0-liter engine features some ingenious designs that help it produce such staggering figures such as being a closed deck design, rotated around the vertical axis by 180 degrees for improved air flow; a twin scroll turbo with parallel flow passages; an electronically controlled waste gate with 2.1 bars (30.4 PSI) of pressure; coated pistons and cylinders (the same one used in their Formula One cars); and two-stage fuel injection.
Mercedes-AMG M 139 2.0-liter 4-Cylinder Specifications:
As the worldwide debut of Mazda’s revolutionary Skyactiv-X nears, the carmaker has finally released its official power and fuel economy figures. After revealing how much it will cost, the revolutionary Spark Plug Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI) engine has now been uncovered to make 180 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 224 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm. As the first commercial petrol unit to combine the spark ignition of a petrol engine with the compression ignition of a diesel, Skyactiv-X combines the free-revving performance of a gasoline engine and the superior response of a diesel.
Using 95 RON octane fuel, this 2.0-liter engine has a compression ratio of 16.3:1. Furthermore, in its most efficient guise, it generates just 96 grams per kilometer (g/km) of CO2 emissions while achieving up to 18.51 km/L in a combined city/highway setting.
The all-new Mazda3 Skyactiv-X also comes equipped with the Mazda M Hybrid technology—a 24-volt mild hybrid system that minimizes fuel consumption, lowers emissions, and increases fuel economy by recycling energy recovered during deceleration by powering an electric motor that assists the engine.
You can check all the facts and figures of the Mazda3 Skyctiv-X below:
It looks like Mazda is going to defy convention once again and while they’re at it, they’ll be raising their middle finger to the likes of Toyota. After Toyota resorted to using a BMW engine for its venerable Supra sportscar (because an in-house inline-6 would have been a nightmare to produce), little automaker Mazda has confirmed that they’re making their very own inline-6 engine and get this, it’ll come in both diesel and gasoline flavors. Confirmed in a presentation accompanying Mazda’s Fiscal Year 2019 March Results, the Hiroshima-based carmaker laid out plans to offer a more expanded line-up with a much higher price variance compared to today. In order achieve that, they’ll be leveraging their KODO design language as well as upgrading their Skyactiv-G and -D, introducing Skyactiv-X, mild hybrid, and independently-developed battery EVs for cars underpinned by their “small architecture” (aka Mazda3, CX-30).
But seemingly out of nowhere, Mazda has confirmed that they’re also working on a “large architecture” and this one will benefit from a family of inline-6 engines, one featuring Skyactiv-X and the other, the second-generation Skyactiv-D. A 48-volt mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions are in the works too. Furthermore, this new platform will have a longitudinal engine layout (ala BMW) which could possibility mean a rear-wheel drive vehicle! Though Mazda hasn’t confirmed which vehicles are underpinned by this platform, it’s a safe assumption that the next-generation Mazda6, and likely CX-5 and CX-9 will have access to this.
Mazda hasn’t revealed the exact timing of when the world will see their family of 6 cylinder engines, but given it’s part of their medium-term management policy, it’ll be sometime between 2020 to 2025.
If you’ve taken in enough Geneva Motor Show news in the past few weeks, eagle-eyed readers will notice that carmakers have begun quoting their fuel mileage using WLTP. What exactly is this new fuel mileage standard and how does this differ from previous testing methods? WLTP stands for Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure and contrary to popular belief, it preceded the “Dieselgate” emissions scandals that shock the automotive world in 2015. It’s the fruit of the United Nations’ plan to merge existing fuel economy standards such as Europe’s NEDC, the U.S.’s EPA, and Japan’s JC08, something they’ve been working on since 2007. Before its roll out in 2017, automotive experts from Europe, the U.S., Japan, and India all worked together to come up with the new standard.
According to automotive experts, existing fuel economy measurements, be it NEDC, EPA, or JC08 are flawed because they’re conducted in a purely laboratory setting. With that, they’re inclined too much towards theoretical driving making the resulting figures almost impossible to achieve in the real-world.
Though tests done using the WLTP standard are still done in a laboratory, they use real-world data collected from around the world in order to create a more realistic everyday driving profile.
The WLTP driving cycle is divided into four parts with different average speeds: low, medium, high, and extra high. Each part contains a variety of driving phases, stops, acceleration and braking phases. Moreover, unlike NEDC which tests just one variant of a particular powertrain type (so typically carmakers enter the lightest, and therefore the most economical one), WLTP tests a car’s lightest (most economical) and heaviest (least economical) versions.
Oh, and thanks to Dieselgate, the U.N. has caught on and isn’t relying on laboratory data alone for emissions. Instead, they’re adding a separate Real Driving Emissions (EDE) tests to verify data captured. Literally, during RDE tests, cars are fitted with a portable emissions testing system and are driven on a variety of roads. In this case, they do allow some disparity for compliance, but not as high as the Dieselgate offenders which were 40 times more polluting in rear-world versus laboratory conditions.
Currently, Europe has already shifted away from the NEDC to the WLTP standard since September 2017. All cars launched after then had to be tested using WLTP protocols and just last September 2018, the same standard has been applied to all newly-registered vehicles there. It’s worth noting though that the U.S. has opted to pull out of the worldwide agreement and instead opted to revise its own EPA fuel economy and emissions rating system.
Manufacturers based in Europe were hit hard by the introduction of WLTP testing. The longer emissions cycles and twice the number of vehicles needed for testing, as well as the upgrading of emissions equipment all required massive financial investment. The backlog of testing and certification prevented the sale of many models after the introduction of WLTP, and some carmakers reported that their sales dropped as much as 18 percent. Plus, the more realistic test results may increase taxes and registration fees, especially those based on fuel efficiency and/or emissions.
Moving forward, this will have an effect on cars sold elsewhere too. It’s conceivable that the introduction of WLTP as well as the tightening emissions requirements will cause carmakers to trim their model variants and options lists extensively to limit the emissions-certifications costs.
