Volvo i-ART diesel tech to “turn V8s into dinosaurs”

Volvo_VEA_i-ART_05

To say that Volvo has high hopes for its new VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) engine family would be an understatement. How high? High enough for Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Car Group to come up with this statement: “We will create smaller, more intelligent engines with so much power that they will turn V8s into dinosaurs.”

Crabb went on to claim that their new four-cylinder engines would offer higher performance than today’s six-cylinder units and lower fuel consumption than the current four-cylinder generation. On top of that, electrification (hybrid or some sort) will bring it up into power figures in today’s V8-territory.

Vital in its plight to cut fuel consumption in the new diesel engines is Volvo’s i-ART technology – a world-first direct injection management system to eschew the use of a traditional single pressure sensor in the common rail injector. Instead it features pressure feedback from each fuel injector to continuously monitor and adapt fuel injection per combustion in each of the four cylinders.

Volvo_VEA_i-ART_06

Each injector now monitors the local injection pressure, while the self-adapting i-ART system makes sure that the ideal amount of fuel is injected during each combustion cycle. The result? An engine with improved fuel economy, considerably lower emissions and high performance output as well as a powerful sound character.

The Volvo i-ART technology combined with increased rail pressure to an exceptionally high 2,500 Bar is described as “the second step in the diesel revolution”. Volvo claims that it’s a huge breakthrough that’s comparable to when it invented the lambda sensor for the catalytic converter in 1976.

Together with the modular VEA engine family (which includes both diesel common rail and petrol direct injection line-ups, each offered with several levels of turbocharging), Volvo will also introduce a new eight-speed automatic gearbox that would further enhance driving refinement and fuel efficiency.

As they say, talk is cheap. Words are plentiful. Deeds are precious. We’ll see if Volvo can deliver on all its promises come the fourth quarter of this year.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Hafriz Shah

Preferring to drive cars rather than desks, Hafriz Shah ditched his suit and tie to join the ranks of Malaysia’s motoring hacks. A car’s technical brilliance is completely lost on him, appreciating character-making quirks more. When not writing this ego trip of a bio, he’s usually off driving about aimlessly, preferably in a car with the right combination of three foot pedals and six gears.

 

Comments

  • Jimmy on Apr 10, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    Wow, very promising.
    Make sure you make it more famous than V8, because in Malaysia branding and fame is more important than anything because people who can afford easily anything more than RM300K is unlikely to race on legal roads. They most likely will never even once push the vehicle to its limit. V8 is glamorous at the rear of vehicles.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0
  • this is really impressive, if volvo can pull this off, imagine the standards of a normal modern day sports car, 150hp could be raised to 400hp or more, at the same time saving fuel AND lowering the cost to build a car.
    IF they can do it, this will be ground breaking.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 88
    • Otto or Diesel engines are dinosaurs, regardless of how much power they pump out, they run on dinosaur fuel.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 27
  • The technology sounds promising, the scale of innovation is, i would say, as good as the sky activ from Mazda, or even better..
    The engine will use 4 pressure sensors (4 cylinder) instead of 1, to monitor the fuel injectors. This means the engine structure (parts) will will be more complicated than before? ultimately, It is imperative for volvo to make it RELIABLE ..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 25 Thumb down 1
    • Vishnu on Apr 10, 2013 at 9:59 pm

      ditto.. I was thinking the same thing. So many things could go wrong, expensively wrong… but that’s technology isn’t it? :D

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
  • Gavin on Apr 11, 2013 at 2:22 am

    with Chinese money anything is possible this is the fact

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 1
  • pelams on Apr 11, 2013 at 11:52 am

    upgrade d diesel here 1st..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • problem with diesel technology lies on injector and diesel fuel…been using Dmax 3.0 first year very economical in long journey.. Rm 50.00 can reach melaka to K.terengganu.. after 3 years Rm 175.00..can i trust diesel technology in malaysia..think again.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

Add a comment

required

required