Fiat
pulled out an unexpected announcement today when it
issued a press release confirming a new 4-cylinder turbo
petrol engine is to be built at its FMA plant in Pratola
Serra, Italy, beginning in early 2013 for initial use by
Alfa Romeo.
According to a press release, the engine “will have a
displacement of 1.8 litres and a maximum output of 300
hp, setting a new performance standard in its category.”
The release also notes it will be compliant with future
emissions standards in both Europe (Euro 6) and the U.S.
(Tier 2 Bin 5).
According to the release, the engine will be of all-aluminium
construction and incorporate advanced technologies,
including “a 200-bar gasoline direct injection system,
dual variable timing and a high-efficiency
turbocharger.” Fiat claims the new unit will offer
“power-to-weight ratio, fuel efficiency, acoustic and
vibrational comfort, and driving performance that are
the very best in its category and characteristic of Alfa
Romeo engines.”
The
news that Alfa Romeo is getting a new engine was
unexpected, especially as the brand recently introduced
the highly-regarded 1.8 TBi direct injection ‘1750’
engine. For a loss-making carmaker such as Fiat, which
is suffering the effects of ageing models and is reduced
to hasty rehashes of Chrysler Group models to try to
tide it along, a new 1.8 petrol engine for Alfa Romeo is
one of the few items which is not a pressing priority.
It is a curious announcement for a management which is
obsessed with cutting costs ahead of producing
class-leading product or quality.
That
scenario has thus led to immediate speculation that Fiat
could be poised to built a revised version of Chrysler
Group’s World Gasoline Engine (WGE) in Italy, although
details remain very unclear. The current TBi ‘Family B’
unit is built at Pratola Serra alongside FPT’s 1.6, 2.0
and twin-turbo 1.9 MultiJet diesels, all of which derive
from the same family. Indeed, the TBi engine shares its
fundamentals of bore and stroke with the 1.6 and 2.0
diesels. However, all Family B variants have a cast-iron
block which would involve significant re-engineering
work to convert to an aluminium item, and none in
their current form are designed for longitudinal
applications.
On the
other hand, the WGE family, built in Dundee, Michigan,
already features all-aluminium construction and the
ability to adapt to both transverse and longitudinal
installations. A 1.8-litre variant of the WGE – with
bore of 86mm and stroke of 77mm – was previously used in
base-model Dodge Calibers, although this version has not
been produced since 2009. Nevertheless, the WGE
consistently appears as a long-term offering in Chrysler
Group presentations, and the 2.0 and 2.4 variants are
currently the focus of an intensive re-engineering
program which involves the addition of Fiat’s acclaimed
MultiAir induction system and, in higher-performance
variants, direct injection and turbocharging. (With this
said, the current TBi unit is also explicitly named in
last year’s 2010-2014 Business Plan as a core future
powertrain component.)
Chrysler’s November 2009 powertrain presentation does
offer a possible hint that the WGE’s 1.8-litre option
was, even at that stage, being considered for future
high-performance applications. Under a slide entitled
“Potential Gasoline Engine Expansion Through 2014”, it
features all three capacities of the WGE, and notes the
future of the 1.8 as being in direct injection and
turbocharging. (The projected schedule for the engine’s
debut – less than 18 months away – certainly implies
development has been underway for a significant length
of time.) The presentation does not offer any clues as
to why a WGE-derived engine might be earmarked for
Pratola Serra. However, this may simply be a
politically-correct announcement – with Fiat frequently
chopping and changing its production plans (and the
future of Mirafiori once again thrown into doubt), there
is every possibility the production of such an engine,
should it prove to be a WGE derivative, would in fact
take place at Dundee.
If WGE
is indeed the future option for Alfa Romeo products –
and its first production application will be in the Alfa
4C sports car – it would be a huge gamble for Fiat to
take, as the base engine is one of the most derided
engines in recent years. WGE is the leftovers of the
former Chrysler/Mitsubishi/Hyundai joint venture, the
Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA). Production
began in 2005, but despite its relatively recent design
the result was a low-tech and generally unrefined
powerplant which is now well off the pace of modern
rivals.
According to Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester, the new
engine marks “an extremely important step for Alfa
Romeo, as we continue to reposition our brand and
prepare it for global distribution. The United States
remains our primary objective as we prepare for a 2013
introduction of our models.” He added that “the
dedication of group-wide resources to develop specific
powertrain solutions for the specific needs of Alfa
Romeo is a reflection of the renewed thrust we are
placing on the development of this brand. This is a
first step in a series of initiatives to be implemented
in the near future which will reconnect Alfa Romeo to
its historical roots as a premium Italian sports car
brand.”
