Amid tougher emissions rules in Europe, the United States and China, Volvo is doing away with its five- and six-cylinder engines. Beginning in 2013, the Swedish automaker will offer engines with no more than four cylinders.
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Volvo R & D head Peter Mertens said that the automaker will offer a new family of three- and four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines to replace its current five- and six-cylinder gasoline engines, as well as its five-cylinder diesel.
“Before the end of the decade, all Volvo models will have engines with no more than four cylinders,” said Mertens.
The first application of Volvo’s all-new engine architecture will likely appear within an existing model in 2013. The new VEA (short for Volvo Environmental Architecture) family of engines will include 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline direct-injection and diesel engines as well as 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline direct-injection and diesel engines.
“We will develop four-cylinder engines with higher performance than today’s six-cylinder units and lower fuel consumption than the current four-cylinder generation,” Mertens added.
Volvo Dealer Edison said that in addition to bringing a bevy of smaller engines to its lineup, Volvo is also continuing to test its flywheel technology. The KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) captures and stores braking energy in a flywheel. That energy can then be used to accelerate the car or propel the vehicle once it reaches cruising speed. Mertens says the system will provide 80 additional horsepower while curbing fuel consumption by up to 20 percent.
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