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We may have thought that Infiniti’s new 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, codenamed VR30, was the most powerful and fuel efficient production engine that the manufacturer had to offer but their recent announcement has revealed another trick up their sleeves.
Set to be presented at the 2016 Paris Motor next month on the 29th, Infiniti will show off the first ever production-ready variable compression ratio engine. Shortened to VC-T (Variable Compression-Turbocharged), this will be one of the world’s most advanced internal combustion engines ever created.
This engine has been in development for more than 20 years and Roland Krueger, president of INFINITI Motor Company, claims the new four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline VC-T engine is going to be a “revolutionary next-step in optimizing the efficiency of the internal combustion engine."
What makes this technology so special is the engine’s ability to deliver the same power as a high-performance 2.0-liter turbo gas engine but at higher level of efficiency. It can automatically and seamlessly adjust the height the pistons’ reach which in turn changes the compression ratio when needed.
The engine displacement can drastically change, anywhere from a high performance 8:1 compression ratio to a fuel sipping 14:1 is possible. By doing so, the VC-T motor can optimize the compression ratio to tackle the task at hand, something that engines with a fixed compression ratio cannot do.
Besides reducing fuel consumption and emissions, the new VC-T technology will also decrease noise and improve vibration levels, help the engine shed a few pounds and make it more compact. According to Reuters, when it’s compared to a conventional 3.5-liter V-6 engine, the 2.0-liter VC-T engine was found to be around 27% more efficient.
Even though Infiniti isn’t the first one to develop a variable-compression engine, the company may be the first one to bring it to production. We’ll just have to wait for their press conference on the 29th at 12:30 p.m. local time to have an idea of which model they plan to debut this technology in.
