Fiat MultiAir Turbo Named Engine of the Year
By John O'Dell June 24, 2010Fiat's 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo engine - a powerplant the carmaker hopes to use to help 
Chrysler gain ground in the U.S. small car and fuel-efficiency sweepstakes - has been named the best new engine of 2010 by the International Engine of the Year jury.
The small but powerful four-cylinder engine was introduced in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta small car and the Alfa MiTo subcompact, where one variant produces 170 horsepower while delivering fuel economy - measured on the European combined city-highway cycle - of 47 miles per gallon.
Fiat, which took control of Chrysler after the U.S. automaker's bankruptcy last year, has announced plans to use MultiAir technology on Chrysler's 4-cylinder "World" engines in the U.S.
Fiat will introduce the 1.4-liter engine in the North American version of the Fiat 500 
subcompact being built by Chrysler at its plant in Mexico and slated to go on sale in the U.s. later this year.
The 1.4-liter MultiAir engine uses sophisticated electrohydraulic valve controls that permit almost infinite independent adjustment of inlet vales at each cylinder.
Judges - an international panel of automotive journalists that includes Edmunds.com chief road test editor Chris Walton - cited Fiat's claims that the MultiAir engine provides as much as a 10-percent boost in power and a 15-percent increase in torque over similarly sized engines without the system while boosting fuel economy by up to 10 percent.
Precise control of fuel and air intake also reduces engine emissions and Fiat claims the MultiAir system can cut CO2 by 10 percent; toxic particulate matter by 40 percent and smog-causing nitrogen oxides, or NOx, by up to 60 percent.
By boosting power, the system will enable Fiat and Chrysler to use smaller displacement engines to increase fuel economy and decrease tailpipe emissions without sacrificing performance.
Fiat intends to use MultiAir technology on an entire family of new engines and is presently working on a 105-horsepower, two-cylinder turbocharged model for European minicars.
The 1.4-liter engine outscored Ferrari's new 4.5-liter V8, Volkswagen's 1.2 liter TSI and 3-liter TSI hybrid powerplants; the Mercedes-Benz 4-liter hybrd gas-electric system used in the new S400 hybrid; ad the 4.4-liter BMW V8 in balloting for the annual new engine award.
Photos
1 - The Alfa Romeo MiTo uses the Fiat MultiAir Turbo. (Photo by Fiat)
2 - The Fiat 500, to be built in Mexico, will be equipped with the Fiat MultiAir Turbo. (Photo by AutoObserver's Bill Visnic)
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