During the launch of the Drive-E engine range in South Africa last year, one engineer revealed at the media presentation that Volvo will focus on “developing four-cylinder engines and smaller”.
As I questioned them on that statement later on, I was only given a friendly smile.
However, now Volvo’s global head of powertrains, Derek Crabb, has confirmed that a new three-cylinder engine will be heading for production in the next two years, being implemented in models as early as 2016.
He confirmed that this three-cylinder engine will have a capacity of 1,5-litre litres and will be turbocharged (similar to the layout of the new Mini Cooper). The unit will be installed in cars such as the S60 sedan and the V60 station wagon.
If Volvo’s Drive-E plans are anything to go by, expect a turbodiesel derivative with the same capacity to be launched soon thereafter.
As the new Volvo XC90 Hybrid is about to be unveiled – the first hybrid Volvo to be offered in South Africa – these smaller engines will also be connected to hybrid systems in the future.
It seems the 2,0-litre capacity engines will remain in cars such as the XC60, as Crabb confirms that these three-cylinder engines “are not planned for the higher XC cars at the moment. It’s not the power. It’s more to do with the torque”.
According to Crabb we can also expect to see Drive-E engine updates as regularly as every two years. This means the current crop of 2,0-litre Drive-E engines will receive its first update in 2015.
Source: WorldCarFans.com via Autocar
