General Motors unveils new modular Ecotec engines

General Motors (GM), has unveiled their new line-up of Ecotec engines which are slated to arrive in both three- and four-cylinder applications. The engines will underpin many of the company’s highest-volume small cars and compact crossovers through the end of the decade, and will be first introduced in the Opel Adam and the Chevrolet Cruze, a car specially tailored for China.

A total of 11 engines including the turbocharged versions, with three- and four-cylinder complete the Ecotec family. The displacement ranges from 1.0 to 1.5 litres. The engines are capable of producing power ratings between 75PS to 165PS and torque ranging from 95Nm to 250Nm.

GM aspires to build more than 25 lakh small-displacement Ecotec engines for 27 distinct models annually, at five manufacturing locations around the globe by 2017. According to GM one of the four engines that it will produce will be a part of the Ecotec family.

GM claims that the noise intensity of their new Ecotec engines is up to 50 per cent quieter than Volkswagen’s EA211 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine, and upto 25 per cent quieter than Ford’s 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine.

Tom Sutter, Global Chief Engineer, GM, says, “The new Ecotec architecture represents the most advanced and efficient family of small-car gas engines in GM's history. Along with performance and efficiency targets, we’ve also aimed for segment-leading refinement with low noise and vibration – and we've hit the bulls-eye.”