New 1.0-litre turbo for Vauxhall Adam

A frugal new 1.0-litre SIDI three-cylinder turbo petrol engine will go on sale in the Vauxhall Adam city car in 2014, following its debut at next month’s 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The new low-emissions unit – a rival to Ford’s 1.0 Ecoboost engine in the Fiesta and Focus – will deliver “impressive fuel economy and CO2 emissions significantly lower than 100g/km”, according to Vauxhall.

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The current Adam range is powered by 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrols. Both units have come in for some criticism over power and efficiency, something the new motor should easily address.

The 1.0-litre turbo engine will develop 115hp, but even more impressively, also churn out 122lb ft of torque. That’s not only 30% more than Vauxhall’s current 1.6 petrol,  it’s spread low and wide between 1,800 and 4,800rpm.

This should mean the new engine will be extremely tractable and economical, even in larger cars, such as the firm’s Astra hatchback.

In fact, Vauxhall claims the new three-cylinder turbo engine “generates more torque through its operating range than equally powerful higher displacement engines, while fuel efficiency is improved by 20% compared with the current 1.6 petrol that powers the Astra.”

The three-pot 1.0 SIDI motor will also be mated to a new six-speed manual gearbox.

This engine is the first in a new family of modular three- and four-cylinder petrol engines for Vauxhall, which will soon stretch up to 1.6-litres in capacity.

Beyond the Astra, larger versions could power bigger, heavier cars, such as the next Insignia.

Vauxhall has already confirmed that a 200hp “high performance” version of the 1.6 SIDI turbo engine will debut at Frankfurt 2013 in the Cascada convertible, before it goes on sale in January next year.

As for the frugal 1.0-litre unit, the British carmaker states it’s lighter than its predecessor – thanks to its new aluminium construction – which should also help improve handling for future models.

As well as the lack of mass, key to the engine’s efficiency is the direct injection system and integrated exhaust manifold, which will improve engine warm-up times and therefore fuel economy.

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By motoringresearch.com