In its never-ending war on the unique (and cylinder count), fuel economy regulations are claiming another victim. Just weeks after Mazda killed off the inefficient but loveable rotary, Volvo R&D head Peter Martens has told Automotive News Europe that by decade's end, "all Volvo models will have engines with no more than four cylinders."
"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," Martens told ANE.
The new powertrains are set for 2013 and will include a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline motor with DI, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and two diesels. Volvo says the new powertrains will be nearly 200 pounds lighter than the current offerings.
Volvo is attempting to double annual sales to 800,000 by 2020 and lower emissions as well as higher fuel economy are mandatory for that sort of leap. A flywheel-based KERS system is also entering the test phase.
bankerdanny says:
02:30 PM, 09/20/11
Doubling sales with nothing but 3 and 4 cylinder cars? Good luck with that Volvo.
Be prepared to eat even more dust from BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Lexis.
cwc1 says:
06:53 PM, 09/20/11
And many former and potential Volvo buyers will bite the dust too. For every auto maker that jumps on this silly fewer cylinders is better bandwagon, I'll be jumping off of theirs. Fuel usage is not about cylinder count; it's about engine displacement and its design efficiency. I know there's a higher cost to designing and building engines with more cylinders, but a three cylinder Volvo or three cylinder anything is ridiculous. The consumer will be getting less for their money - less refinement and less drivability, no matter how advanced the engines become. However, they will be getting more noise, vibration, and harshness, for no extra charge.
This is what happens when representative republics stop paying attention and succumb to the socialist and fascist propaganda that surrounds us.
stovt001 says:
09:42 AM, 09/21/11
I thought Mazda said the rotary would be back, and the RX-8 replacement is in development.
greenpony says:
10:13 AM, 09/21/11
Engines with fewer cylinders offer efficiency advantages over comparably sized engines with more cylinders. I'm waiting for the first two-cylinder engine to debut in the NA market... It's just a matter of time.
And I'm with you, stovt001. I thought Mazda was just temporarily killing the rotary.
tysalpha1 says:
10:53 AM, 09/21/11
@bankerdanny, cwc1:
Lexus can meet CAFE numbers as part of Toyota, and Audi can as part of VW... but unfortunately what Volvo is doing is going to happen with all of the independent premium makes.
BMW and Mercedes have both said they will be using more 4-cylinder engines, and both have posited a 3-cylinder for their smallest cars (1-series, A- and B-class).
I think it's cool that Volvo is working ahead on what can be done to meet CAFE and provide a premium experience. We'll see if their approach works or not. If it's as fast as the T5, with better fuel efficiency and without a harsh ride, I'm in. If not, I'll shop elsewhere next time.
bankerdanny says:
10:59 AM, 09/21/11
I don't fault Volvo for introducing more small turbo charged engines, just for trying to go to an all 4-cyl or less model.
In the market Volvo plays in, no 6 or 8 cylinder engine will knock you off of lots of shopping lists. Upscale pricing + small engines = niche brand (see Saab) not more volume.
Volvo would be better served to focus on weight reduction rather than cylinder elimination.
kain77 says:
12:29 PM, 09/21/11
Balance shaft manufacturers are going to have a field day with these new standards.
geokilla says:
03:25 PM, 09/24/11
I'm going to miss the inline 5 that's currently used in my S60 T5. It's an old design which has been updated throughout it's 17 year life cycle, but the time has come to ditch it. I hope it gets replaced by the 4 cylinder T5 engine outside of North America, as that engine makes nearly as much horsepower and torque as the inline 5.