Ford has unveiled a new small capacity turbocharged petrol engine with exceptional CO2 and mpg figures












The trend for downsizing continues with Ford unveiling its new 1-litre ‘EcoBoost’ petrol engine, set to become the company's CO2-cutting mid-range powerplant.



Despite its diminuitive capacity, the three-cylinder turbocharged motor generates either 98bhp or 123bhp and will be fitted to the lower reaches of the range, including the Focus, the C-Max and the forthcoming B-Max. Although unconfirmed, you can also expect to see it in the Fiesta and possibly even the unloved Ka.



Developed in the UK, and set to be built in Germany and Romania, Ford reckons it will be building up to 1.3 million of the engines each year. When fitted to a Ford Focus the 98bhp version will deliver ‘best in class’ emissions of just 109g/km on the standard economy test. The more powerful 123bhp version will emit just 114g/km.



Ultra-small petrol engines – with fewer than four cylinders – are going to become an increasing part of the European car market in coming years, especially as tighter emissions standards increase the cost of smaller diesel engines. Fiat has already introduced its 0.8-litre two-cylinder ‘TwinAir’ and other manufacturers are known to be working on similar technology to reduce CO2 emissions.



The interesting question will be seeing how close the relatively heavy Focus can get to its impressive-sounding economy numbers when being driven in the real world.

 

I wonder if they're to make it E85 compatible. No statements on estimated MPG?

 

yes, i was wondering what the mpgs were too????

 

Amazing power for such a diminutive size. That is about the same power that my 1.8 16V Scirocco made back in 1987. The times, they are a'changin'...

 

Combine it with weight-saving materials for the rest of the car (including leaner passengers) and it will be an mpg champ!

 

Good find, its very interesting to see how motors have, and are still developing over the years.

 

I think this engine would be perfect in something really unique like the new Scion iQ. The iQ only weighs 2,100 lbs, so this 1.0LT motor would feel like a performance engine in such a nifty small car. And would get great MPG to boot.

Why is it that all of the really unique engines end up in yawner cars, and nifty cars end up with yawner motors?

This engine will end up in a full size compact Focus (weight 2,900 lbs), so 0-60 will be like 16 sec, assuming you can wait that long! The car will undoubtedly get 50mpg, but I'd be scared to take it on the freeway.

Mazda is coming out with a very interesting small twin-turbo diesel engine. So, what do they do, but plan to put it in the full size Mazda6; it will be lucky to keep up the 18 wheelers.

One of the most interesting car bodies of the last decade was the 1gen Honda Insite; an all aluminum pan and body. So, even with the hybrid drivetrain the car only weighed 1,800 lbs. With a real motor that car could have been both a MPG champ AND had a bit of performance. Instead it was driven only by hippies who had no appreciation for the all aluminum car.

I want to see some new cars with interesting high tech engines put into interesting high tech bodies and chassis. And throw in a nice twin-clutch 8-spd transmission option.

 

i agree.. even though it makes this power peak there's gotta be a level of efficiency where these engines end up... not efficient.. esp if they're in high load lowend torque situations.. i have to imagine a "regular" 2-2.3l engine will do a better job pulling a 3k lb car up a hill than a 1.0l turbo

 

True to a point. The goal is to maximize efficiency in the 90% of situations where you don't need a lot of power - city driving, congested freeway driving, etc. Most cars are vastly overpowered for how they are driven, with drivers barely scratching the surface. 260 horsepower sedans could get by with 150, but they don't sell well.

The thing I don't really understand is why so many resources are being put into diminutive gas engines, when a similarly sized turbodiesel would provide a better driving experience and better mileage. The Fiesta in the UK gets nearly 70 MPG (their cycle is a bit different than ours, but real world mileage in the 60s is likely).

 

I wonder if I can put it in my raptor 700 lol