NEWS
Daimler and Ford in tech exchange program
Ford's EcoBoost 1.0-litre triple technology key to the next smartFord and Daimler have announced an information sharing deal to hasten each side’s development of fuel-efficient engines.
Under the terms of the deal, Daimler gets a deep look into Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost triple (pictured), acknowledged as the current best-of-breed. In return, Stuttgart will let Ford in on the finer details of the stratified lean-burn technology helping keep it at the pointy end of the engine downsizing trend.
In what looks for all the world like a 3D join-the-dots game, Daimler will take the information it gleans from the deal for use in the three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine it’s developing with Nissan-Renault. That unit will turn up in next-gen smart fortwo and Renault Twingo models, being developed by the two on a common platform. It makes the smart a cost-effective development program...
Ford’s little triple is already established in compact and subcompact models like the Focus and Fiesta hatches and the C-Max and B-Max MPVs. It has won plaudits aplenty for its balance of decent performance with low emissions. Asked by European media about the information exchange, Mercedes-Benz engine development director Ronald Kemmler described it as “a very interesting and impressive engine”.
In return, the deal gives Ford a leg-up towards compliance with the fast-approaching Euro-6 emissions deadline. The Blue Oval takes away details of the stratified charge technology allowing some Mercedes-Benz petrol engines, for example the 1.8-litre turbo four in the recently updated E200, to meet the new standards, set to come into force in September 2014.
Stratified charge systems delay the input of fuel, withholding it through the normal intake stroke and injecting it late in the compression stroke, just before ignition. The injector squirts the fuel into a rounded cavity in the surface of the piston, concentrating it into a spot closer to the spark than conventional systems allow. The net effect is a more complete burn while keeping the flame away from the combustion chamber walls, keeping overall operating temperature down and reducing power-sapping cylinder dilation. It boosts fuel efficiency by allowing the ECU to lean down the fuel mix under light load and at steady (eg freeway) speeds.
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Written byJeremy Bass
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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