"The fact that the compression ratio parameter can now be controlled enables more accurate engine operation, and therefore, higher efficiency." Smith feels the SVC can be combined with other engine technologies to further improve performance, lower fuel consumption and reduce exhaust emissions.
Smith says the importance of the compression ratio to the efficiency of an engine has long been known, and freely adds that "there are many imaginative patents for different designs of variable compression engines."
What Saab engine designers were first to achieve after almost two decades of research, he adds, "was to combine innovative new thinking with a known technique and proven theories in order to develop a system that is usable."
Even in this refined concept version, the Saab 5-cylinder, 1.6-liter SVC engine is "still at the prototype stage and further development work is needed before the engine can be used in regular production."
Smith concludes that, "the final design and size, and also the performance and fuel consumption properties of the ultimate production engine are dependent on many factors, including meeting the future demands of customers."