Volvo: environmental news

9/10/14
Environmental news: Volvo's new 444bhp Drive-E powerplant

As part of its environmentally-aware campaign to downsize the engines used in its lineup, Volvo has created a small 2-litre, 4-cylinder Drive-E engine capable of producing a staggering 444bhp. This is not the typical headline you expect to see in an 'Environmental news' section.

The triple-boosted unit uses a complex system of two parallel turbochargers aided by an electric turbo-compressor, the result of which is an engine with huge output. In comparison to other power units with a similar output, it also has a relatively tiny displacement and increased efficiency, with fewer emissions and, most impressive of all, no turbo lag. This is thanks to the ingenious parallel turbochargers being spooled up by the electric turbo-compressor.

Above: the future is small - the petite but potent 444bhp triple-boosted Drive-E engine, revealed by Volvo this week. 

Dr. Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Volvo, was quick to point out that in spite of the powertrain's immediate benefits, other, less immediately obvious attributes of the engine would also contribute to the car's green credentials. This would be achieved through utilising the space saved by using this engine rather than a larger engine to add an electric motor, to make the car even more efficient and reduce emissions even further, or to simply save weight by using the lighter engine in place of, for example, the bulky V8 used in high-spec XC90 models. A smaller amount of resources is needed in the production process too, meaning production is greener and, importantly for all involved, cheaper.

The advent of small, high-output engines at Volvo will be hugely beneficial, as consumers will no longer have to sacrifice one for the other when choosing a car with either green appeal or sporting promise. Volvo's strict policy of downsizing engines was met with concern for the firm's Polestar performance models - concern which developments such as this will surely lay to rest, as Volvo strives to become the market leader in terms of efficiency and safety in its vehicles.

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11/12/14
Environmental news: Volvo reveals new turbocharged three-cylinder engine

They're at it again! In their attempts to rid their lineup of all engines larger than four-cylinder, Volvo have revealed their newest miniature engine - a turbocharged, three-cylinder unit which may see use in the 40 Series and 60 Series.

The 1.5-litre triple is another Drive-E powertrain, designed to be as efficient as possible in order to comply with Euro 7 emissions regulation, as well as Volvo's own personal goals at becoming a leaner, greener car, in terms of engine size. The real surprise is Volvo's announcement that the tiny triple is likely to power the S60, V60 and XC60 - the first time the XC60's segment will have seen an engine quite so small, but placing the S60 and V60 into direct competition with the upcoming BMW 3-Series facelift, which is set to play host to its own 3-pot powerplant. It's also the first time the premium hatch segment will see a three-cylinder model, with the V40.

Above: The XC60 is an unusually large vehicle to play host to such a small engine - testament to Volvo's downsizing efforts.

Not intended a high-performance unit like the 444bhp 4-cylinder engine announced earlier this year, Volvo aims for a CO2 output figure of around 95g/km, slotting neatly under the lowest band, for tax-free motoring. Once again, Volvo appears to be ahead of the curve when implementing green technologies and downsizing engine capacities across their range, despite not even nearly being market leaders in their segment.