Fiat Powertrain Technologies has revealed a revolutionary two-cylinder Twin-Air engine at the Geneva motor show.
The 900cc 8V Twin-Air engine, which can be tuned to produce between 64bhp and 104bhp, includes Fiat’s Multiair system combined with special fluid dynamics to maximise performance and efficiency, while also reducing size, weight and CO2 emissions. Two turbocharged and one naturally aspirated version will be offered.
Fiat has also minimised friction and improved thermo-dynamic efficiency to get the optimum performance from the Multiair system. Multiair is an electro-hydraulic valve management system that reduces fuel consumption by controlling air directly via the inlet valves without the use of the throttle.
The Twin-Air engine in 84bhp guise uses 15 per cent less fuel and has 25 per cent more power than a standard 1.2 8V engine, which returns 55mpg.
Next to a 45mpg 1.4 16V engine, Twin-Air uses 30 per cent less fuel and has similar power and performance figures. CO2 emissions in the Twin-Air engine are claimed to be less than 95g/km.
The addition of a turbocharger means it produces more torque at lower revs than the two aforementioned engines.
The engine is also 23 per cent short lighter and 10 lighter than a four-cylinder engine of equal performance and medium displacement. Fiat says its size is also ideal to be used as in a petrol-electric hybrid system and can be mated to an energy recovery system, which stores energy usually lost under braking.
The 84bhp version of the engine will be made available in the Fiat 500 from July.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Re: Fiat reveals 2cyl Twin-Air engine
I can't imagine i'd ever want to drive a car with this engine in, how does it sound? like a bike?
Re: Fiat reveals 2cyl Twin-Air engine
I have seen more pictures in addition to those in Autocar and I have definitely seen a chain.
Re: Fiat reveals 2cyl Twin-Air engine
Me too. I do hope it makes a really characterful and pleasing noise as the details here look promising. It would be nice to see some figures for the weights instead of just percentage changes.
On a different point, does anyone else find themselves amazed by just how tall engines are when you see them out of the car? I always expect them to be about 3/4 of the height maximum. Obviously, the fact that this is super short makes this look even more odd.