Ford's Smallest Ever Engine Packs A Punch!
Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally today launched volume production of Ford’s smallest petrol engine - a 1.0-litre, turbocharged, direct injection EcoBoost engine that will debut in Europe in early 2012 and ultimately be available worldwide.
Ford announced that when the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine debuts in the European Ford Focus, it will produce 125PS while delivering ultra-low petrol CO2 emissions performance of 114g/km - a level unmatched by Focus competitors. A 100PS version of the same engine will deliver outright best-in-class petrol CO2 emissions of 109g/km.
'The new 1.0-litre EcoBoost, and our entire family of EcoBoost engines, represent technology breakthroughs that deliver power, fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions through turbocharging and direct injection,' Mulally said.
'These engines are delivering to our wonderful Ford customers the fuel-efficient vehicles they want and value and, in turn, contributing to the reduction of CO2 and fuel consumption.'
Mulally was joined by Hannelore Kraft, prime minister of Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany, and Elfi Scho-Antwerpes, mayor of Cologne, for the event. Ford said it invested $134 million ($200 million) to develop a special high-tech line at the Cologne Engine Plant to build the engine. The plant’s 870 employees will build up to 350,000 units a year of the new engine.
European production capacity could increase to up to 700,000 units per year as production of the new small EcoBoost engine at Cologne is joined by Ford’s new engine plant in Craiova, Romania, in manufacturing the new 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine in early 2012.
In the years ahead, Ford anticipates production to expand outside of Europe to deliver availability for customers around the world and global production of up to 1.3 million 1.0-litre EcoBoost engines per year.
The new small EcoBoost petrol engine
This new EcoBoost engine delivers performance to rival a traditional 1.6-litre engine and with significantly improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. The 1.0-litre EcoBoost cylinder block can fit onto a sheet of A4 paper but delivers up to 125PS and 170Nm peak torque (with 200Nm overboost), giving it the highest power density of any Ford production engine to date.
'Ford's commitment to Germany as a high-tech manufacturing location is significant,' Mulally said. 'Nowhere outside of the U.S. do we have a stronger design engineering and manufacturing presence than we do here in Germany.'
The small and powerful new EcoBoost is set to debut in the European Ford Focus in early 2012, and will deliver unrivalled petrol fuel economy of 5.0 l/100km and emissions of just 114g/km CO2 in 125PS form, with a 100PS version offering best-in-class CO2 emissions of 109g/km.
The engine also will feature in the hot-selling Ford C-MAX, and in the new Ford B-MAX, which enters production in 2012. Further global applications for both the 125PS and 100PS variants will be announced by Ford later.
The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine was developed by Ford experts across Europe, including engineers at Ford’s European Research and Advanced Engineering Centre in Aachen, Germany, and the Dunton Technical Centre, UK.
'The new 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is a true collaboration from start to finish with expertise from Ford specialists across Europe leveraged in designing both the engine and the cutting-edge facility in which it will be produced,' said Stephen Odell, chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe.
'This will be reflected in the class-leading European CO2 emissions of the new 1.0-litre EcoBoost Ford Focus when it debuts in early 2012; low emissions that will be achieved alongside the spirited and refined performance that customers expect from Ford.'
High-tech EcoBoost production
The advanced EcoBoost production facility at Ford’s Cologne Engine Plant was designed by Ford’s Manufacturing Engineering team, Dunton, UK, using Ford's Virtual Manufacturing laboratory, to offer maximum flexibility and efficiency. Nearly 100 new machining units and a 580-metre purpose-built assembly line have been installed.
Fifty-five automated and 14 semi-automated processes are used, alongside 90 work stations for skilled employees, helping to ensure the highest standards of quality and consistency in production. The technology is capable of machining to an accuracy of 10 microns, 10 to 20 per cent the width of a human hair.
Ford has introduced new manufacturing techniques that reduce the volume of coolant required when machining aluminium engine parts to just four or five millilitres per component from a previous requirement of up to two litres, a reduction of more than 99 per cent that contributes to a reduced environmental footprint from manufacturing.
New 'cold testing' technology allows completed engines to be tested without being started - reducing fuel usage and CO2 emissions from the process by 66 per cent - while 100 per cent of the remaining energy required to run the plant comes from renewable sources.
Total electricity demands have been reduced by 66 per cent compared with production of Ford’s 4.0-litre V6 engine, which ends today at Cologne Engine Plant.
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