Volvo Promises To Reduce Engine Size Without Sacrificing Performance

When I think of Volvo things like economy and safety come to mind much more than performance. Volvo has some cars that have impressive performance, but most of them never make it to the US. Volvo has pledged that it will be building some new 4-cylinder engines that offer the performance of the 6-cylinder engines it previously offered while greatly increasing fuel economy. Volvo will only be using 4-cylinder engines moving forward.

There will be both diesel and gasoline engines in the company's four-cylinder range. The new engines will use what Volvo calls the VEA or Volvo Environmental Architecture with common rail diesel engines and direct injected gasoline engines. The engines will range from models designed for efficiency to models designed for performance with high power and torque.

Volvo notes that to meet the customer expectation for performance and driver requirements in certain engines it will use a KERS system that has a flywheel that spins at up to 60,000 revolutions per minute. That power will be able to be released to accelerate the car or propel the vehicle once cruising speed is reached. The KERS system will add an extra 80hp to the car and reduce fuel use up to 20%. KERS has been used in the professional racing environment by Porsche.