Volkswagen continued its commitment to the BlueMotion brand by unveiling a new three-cylinder, 1.2litre TDI diesel engine at the 31st International Vienna Motor Symposium.
The engine is derived from the 1.6litre four-cylinder TDI of the new Golf and Passat BlueMotion but is remarkably quieter thanks to the latest generation of common rail injection.
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion 1.2litre TDI engine.
Its figures are quite remarkable because despite its relatively small displacement it can still deliver torque of 180Nm at 2,000rpm while fuel savings have been achieved in the region of 0.9litres every 100km. This represents a 22 per cent improvement in fuel economy from around 56mpg to 71mpg compared to a conventional Polo TDI. Indeed CO2 emissions have fallen in a similar manner from 109g/km to 87g/km.
The engine benefits not only from reduced weight, but also from reduced friction power loss with Professor Dr Wolfgang Steiger, the head of future technologies in group communications, stating that long distance and freight transportation will continue to rely on internal combustion engines with high efficiency drive systems even while much of the political focus is on electric mobility. He believes the 1.2litre TDI engine is proof that internal combustion engines can meet current and future demands.
