Vauxhall Adam to get new engine

German car maker, Vauxhall, have announced that their Adam model will be receiving a new 1.0 litre three-pot engine.

Why the new engine?

The brand new 1.0 litre three-cylinder engine will appear in the Adam for the Geneva Motor Show next month. The new all-aluminium Ecotec direct-injection turbocharged petrol engine, a competitor to Ford's Ecoboost installed in the firm's Focus and Fiesta models, has been developed at Vauxhall/Opel's International Technical Development Centre in Russelsheim, Germany. The Ecotec marks the next step in Vauxhall's power train offensive, following the recent introduction of the new 1.6 litre mid-size petrol and diesel engine families. The new engine strategy started in 2012 and will deliver up to 13 units by 2016.

The engine was showcased last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the first of Vauxhall's Small Gasoline Engine (SGE) family and will spawn other lightweight aluminium three and for cylinder petrol engines of between 1.0 and 1.6 litres.

The new engine's specs

The 12 valve 1.0 litre engine will be offered in two outputs. A 89 brake horse power and a 113 brake horse power version. Both generate 122 lb/ft of torque at 1,800rpm, almost 30% more than Vauxhall's naturally aspirated 1.6 litre generates at the same rpm. The lower powered unit has stop/start fitted as standard and the company claim it can return 62mpg on the combined cycle. CO2 emissions have been pegged at 99g/km.

Vauxhall have set out to make the new power train the most refined in it's segment by minimising balance, noise and vibration issues. In batch testing at full throttle, the 1.0 litre unit emits lower noise levels across all engine speeds than the 1.6 litre petrol. Countering the typical offbeat running characteristics of a three-cylinder engine is a chain-driven balancer shaft mounted in the sump. Noise reduction features include acoustically optimised engine covers, a specially tuned intake system and a low-hiss turbocharger compressor.

The new engine will come mated to a new compact six-speed manual transmission with a dry weight of 37kg, 30% lighter than the transmission it replaces. This gearbox will then go on to be rolled out across the entire Vauxhall range. With all of these key attributes in mind, we beleive that this addition to the range will prove to be,a great contending rival for other companies such as the likes of, Volkswagen and Citroen.

The engine will go on sale in the Vauxhall Adam three-door hatch in spring.