Turin, Italy – Auto123 recently paid a visit to the Fiat Powertrain Technologies Division (FPT) of Centro Ricerche Fiat (research center), headed by Executive Vice President, Dr. Rinaldo Rinolfi.
The object of the visit was the presentation of the new MultiAir technology which promises to transform the gasoline engine in the way Common Rail technology, also developed by Fiat in the 1990s, revolutionized the diesel engine.
You may recall that the advent of common rail and its piezoelectric injectors made the good old diesel engine much more suitable for passenger cars. The improvements were so dramatic that diesel engine usage in passenger cars in Europe went from less than 25 % at the end of 90s to close to 50 % today.
Dr. Rinolfi, known to many as the “father of Common Rail” now has another surprise up his sleeve. It’s called MultiAir.
Dr. Rinaldo Rinolfi:
“We at Fiat have always believed that the gasoline engine could still be improved and we have therefore invested heavily in its development. Toyota on the other hand started developing hybrid technologies a few years ago because it had given up on further development of the internal combustion engine. Our own success with common rail for the diesel engine prompted us to pursue this avenue.”
“Our MultiAir system is now ready for the mass market. Our first production car with MultiAir will be launched in Europe in September 2009. MultiAir is based on a simple principle: controlling the movements of the intake valve. Variable valve timing systems widely used at the present time only allow a limit control of the intake valves, whereas MultiAir allows full individual control of both lift and phasing of each intake valve. In essence, “infinite control” of valve movement. This has never been achieved before. This patented technology is potentially applicable to any internal combustion engine, gasoline or diesel, and will be made available to other manufacturers.”
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| The improvements were so dramatic that diesel engine usage in passenger cars in Europe went from less than 25 % at the end of 90s to close to 50 % today. |
The object of the visit was the presentation of the new MultiAir technology which promises to transform the gasoline engine in the way Common Rail technology, also developed by Fiat in the 1990s, revolutionized the diesel engine.
You may recall that the advent of common rail and its piezoelectric injectors made the good old diesel engine much more suitable for passenger cars. The improvements were so dramatic that diesel engine usage in passenger cars in Europe went from less than 25 % at the end of 90s to close to 50 % today.
Dr. Rinolfi, known to many as the “father of Common Rail” now has another surprise up his sleeve. It’s called MultiAir.
Dr. Rinaldo Rinolfi:
“We at Fiat have always believed that the gasoline engine could still be improved and we have therefore invested heavily in its development. Toyota on the other hand started developing hybrid technologies a few years ago because it had given up on further development of the internal combustion engine. Our own success with common rail for the diesel engine prompted us to pursue this avenue.”
“Our MultiAir system is now ready for the mass market. Our first production car with MultiAir will be launched in Europe in September 2009. MultiAir is based on a simple principle: controlling the movements of the intake valve. Variable valve timing systems widely used at the present time only allow a limit control of the intake valves, whereas MultiAir allows full individual control of both lift and phasing of each intake valve. In essence, “infinite control” of valve movement. This has never been achieved before. This patented technology is potentially applicable to any internal combustion engine, gasoline or diesel, and will be made available to other manufacturers.”
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| Our first production car with MultiAir will be launched in Europe in September 2009. |