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Category: Fiat

Chrysler suitor Fiat unveils new 'Multair' gas engine technology

Fiat of Italy, which wants to take a 35 percent stake in Chrysler, unveiled new technology called "Multair" which it claims raises power of gasoline engines by 10 percent and increases fuel efficiency by between 10 and 25 percent.

The technology improves the flow of air in the engine's combustion process, and will also be used to improve the efficiency of diesel engines.

Fiat, presenting the technology at the Geneva Car Show, has an impressive track record in engine innovation. It developed "common rail" diesel engines, which use high-pressure fuel delivery to dramatically raise the power of small diesel engines. Modern European diesel motors account for about 50 per cent of sales in Europe, and provide more power at lower engine revolutions for smooth, peppy and quiet performance.

The first car to be powered by a "Multair" engine will be the Alfa Romeo MiTo sports coupe in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Fiat owns the Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati brands. It hopes the deal with Chrysler will lead to Fiats, and later Alfa Romeos, going on sale in the U.S.

"Multair is the electro-hydraulic system of engine valves for dynamic and direct control of air and combustion, cylinder by cylinder and stroke by stroke."

"Thanks to a direct control of the air through the intake engine valves without using the throttle, Multair helps to reduce fuel consumption, pollutant emissions are likewise reduced through combustion control," Fiat said.

Fiat officials at a press conference declined to say how much extra cost would be added by the new device, which can be fitted retroactively to current engines. Fiat would be licensing other manufacturers to use Multair.