All new Volvo engine family revealed

Volvo Cars has now unveiled an all-new engine family, including a revolutionary diesel engine technology, as per their claim. Under the company's strategy for advancement, it develops the new Drive-E powertrains in house at Volvo's R&D department in Sweden. "The launch of our new Drive-E powertrains is an important step in Volvo's product investment plan that will result in a stronger, more competitive position in the marketplace," said Volvo Cars of North America President and CEO John Maloney. "A great deal of research went into learning how our customers drive and these highly efficient, low-emission engines were designed to provide greater customer choice while retaining the performance attributes our customers expect."

Drive-E is also Volvo's name for all innovations made to reduce the impact on the environment. The company claims that the new engines deliver what was once only thought possible with six or eight cylinders. The new engines can also teamed with electrification, producing vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids with outstanding range. The smaller, lighter engines-by nearly 45kg on the higher performance engine also offers considerably lower emissions and higher fuel economy savings up to 13 to 26 per cent depending on the engine to which they are compared. The exact fuel economy numbers will be unveiled in near future before cars with Drive-E powertrains reach the outlets by early next year.

Globally, the complete Drive-E engine range, formerly called Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA) during its development, consists of two four-cylinder engines, one common rail diesel and one direct-injected gasoline version. They replace eight engine architectures on three platforms. Both the diesel and the gasoline versions share the same architecture.

The two drivetrains will be offered to the United States - a 2.0-litre, T6, 4-cylinder turbocharged and supercharged engine that is capable of developing 302bhp and 400Nm of top torque. The other one is 2.0-litre, T5, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine that develops 240bhp and 350Nm of top torque.

Drive-E powertrains offer many technical features:

Friction reduction: Friction-reduction measures have been employed throughout the engine, including ball bearings on the camshaft, high-speed continuous variable valve timing and intelligent heat management with a fully variable electric water pump.

Start-Stop and Brake Regeneration: All Drive-E engines feature start-stop and brake regeneration. The technology uses brake pressure measurement to trigger when to stop and start the engine. The start/stop system is programmed to shut down the engine immediately when the car reaches a standstill. An electric pump keeps oil pressure up in the automatic gearbox while the engine is stopped. The system also includes an improved starter engine.

Turbo Only or Turbo and Supercharger: Using the supercharger to boost the low end torque gives the gasoline 302-horsepower T6 engine a big, naturally aspirated feel. The mechanically linked compressor starts to function immediately at low revs, while the turbocharger kicks in when the airflow builds up.

Eight-speed gearbox: To deliver the desired responsive, smooth and fuel-efficient drivability, the engines are mated to a new eight-speed automatic gearbox tuned for improved efficiency.