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Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.
I have been on the road with carmakers every day this week, and I am wrapping up the slog at the Vienna engine symposium. About 1300 engineers and executives are here to discuss the future of powertrains. Most of these people have gasoline in their veins, while a few seemingly need to be disconnected from their electrical outlets. Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner says that the electric car won't play a significant role until 2020, but his company "believes in it." The ultra-strict consumption and emissions requirements proposed by the E.U. for 2020 can be met with regular technologies in the subcompact segment, he says, but Golf-sized compact cars likely will need a brake-energy recovery system to comply. These systems consist of strong electric starter-generators with about 15 horsepower, which operate on a 48-volt electrical system and boost the main engine at low speeds. Large cars and SUV—according to Denner, who wants to sell these systems—will need to be full hybrids, even plug-in hybrids, in order to match ambitious efficiency targets. He also gave a glimpse of a hydraulic hybrid system that Bosch is working on with PSA. The system will launch on a production car in 2016 or 2017 and it will be a lot less noisy than the first prototypes. BMW R&D chief Herbert Diess traced the history of BMW's eco-conscious i brand: Seven years ago, the brand's strategy of bigger, faster cars was reviewed. It was found that "environmental awareness is growing, climate change is happening"—beliefs that currently prevail at BMW. Surprisingly, he says that there is a strong trend towards downspeeding, the practice of running engines between 800 and 1800 rpm which brings about larger cylinder volumes. Diess says "the danger is that we are moving away far from emotion, from our heritage, which is characterised by six-cylinder engines and motorcycles."
Three-cylinder engines, according to Diess, are one way to preserve that emotion: "I believe it is a good option for our front-drive and compact rear-wheel-drive cars. The sound, frequencies, power delivery and dynamic capabilities are more interesting than on many four-cylinder engines." (We recently tried out BMW's three-cylinder in a European 1-series, and Diess is fairly spot-on in his assessment of the triple's qualities.) On electrics, which BMW is betting on, he is optimistic that the upcoming, $40,000 i3 will be a fun car around town. But "if you want to drive to Northern Italy with an i3 with a range extender, there will be compromises. You won't enjoy the same driving experience." There is a wide consensus among engineers that natural gas is a cost-effective and attractive solution to deal with ever-stringent CO2 requirements. It hasn't caught on yet in the market, but that may change: "Thanks to fracking technology, there is a revolution happening, the energy outlook has been fundamentally changed," says Bosch's Denner. Hyundai Europe's powertrain chief, Jürgen, agrees and expects that the oil price will be adjusted accordingly—in a downwards direction. BMW's Diess weighs in that that natural gas–powered vehicles are a "fantastic solution," and hints that he would be happy to follow if a big manufacturer with game-changing power takes the lead. It appears that big game-changer would be Volkswagen: The group is pushing massively for natural-gas vehicles, as symbolized by the Audi A3 g-tron and the Volkswagen Eco Up.
Some Volkswagen Powertrain News Besides the 1.0-liter three-cylinder in the Volkswagen Up, which will come in turbocharged form down the road, Wolfsburg is also working on a larger 1.5-liter triple. VW Group's high-powered inline-five could be offered in several brands, in versions which are more advanced than in the base U.S.-market Passat, but more comfort-oriented than in the Audi RS3 and TT RS. The thirsty but sweet VR6 could come to market as a turbocharged 3.0-liter engine, replacing Volkswagen's naturally aspirated 3.6. Soon, all VW Group V-8 and W-12 engines will feature direct injection and turbocharging – and a W-12 thus equipped will be offered again under the VW brand. It was previously available on the first-generation Touareg, and recently was discontinued from the current Phaeton lineup because ZF stopped making the five-speed automatic that was fitted to it. It's good to know that the W-12 will be back stronger than ever . . . I also hear that the next Phaeton, which is based on VW's MLB modular-longitudinal platform, might be fitted with a four-wheel steering system. The added high-speed stability such a system would bring could allow chassis engineers to select a more agile setup.  Soon, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic this way comes. Hyundais for the Autobahn Hyundai is currently testing the next-generation Genesis sedan on the Nürburgring, and several of its technological highlights underscore the fact that it is a car designed for Europe. With the top engines, it will be fitted with a ten-speed automatic with higher ratios designed to work best above 125 mph. On the other side of the power spectrum, the next Genesis will also be offered with a high-output four-cylinder diesel, likely hybridized. In the mid-size i40, Hyundai will have a brake-energy recuperation system, which can feed over 100 lb-ft of torque to the wheels at low rpm via a starter-generator motor. Lovers of the Veloster Turbo will be happy to know that its six-speed torque-converter automatic makes way for a quick-shifting, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic next year.
An Unsafe Benz? The controversial Euro-NCAP organization has delivered a painful blow to Mercedes-Benz and its Citan light commercial vehicle. Little more than a rebadged Renault Kangoo, it has gotten flak for cynical brand exploitation. But that's nothing against the misfortune of its Euro-NCAP safety rating: At three stars out of five, the Citan falls short of Benz's own impeccable standards. Its side and curtain air bags failed to perform as expected—a problem Mercedes promises to rectify. Pedestrian protection was described as "poor" in several areas, and Euro-NCAP criticized several minor points, such as the manual maximum speed setting, which delivers only a visual warning and therefore "did not meet Euro NCAP's requirements." The Citan's rating is somewhat surprising as French vehicles typically fare very well in the test, which they are specifically developed for. Would I buy a Citan? No way. But any supposed lack of safety has nothing to do with it. EVs Aren't Making Inroads European electric-vehicle sales numbers for February are in, and at 2,039 units, their market share amounted to a sorry quarter of a percent. And this figure includes plug-in hybrids. According to the sales figures, 505 electrics were registered in Germany, a country whose government has blared that a full million would be on the road by 2020. A whopping eight EVs were sold in Italy, thought that's more than in Greece, where sales amounted to zero. Perhaps some Eurocrats should be spending their time at the Vienna engine symposium instead of coming up with worthless advice. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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Friday, April 26, 2013
The Continental: Greetings from Vienna with BMW, Hyundai and Volkswagen Powertrain News
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