Opel has released news of two new engines to be launched at the Geneva Motor Show on 4th March. The two new units - a 1.0-litre direct injection turbocharged three-cylinder petrol and a 1.6-litre - will be launched in the Adam. Opel is quoting just 99g/km CO2 emissions from an engine that's claimed to be 30 per cent lighter. It's said also that the new 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit has the torque of a 1.6-litre.
The 1.0 EcoTech engine was developed at Opel's International Technical Centre. According to Opel, the engineers adopted a 'clean sheet of paper' approach to the new engine's development. "We tackled at source the balance, noise and vibration issues typical of conventional three-cylinder engines, and we're confident Adam customers will be enthusiastic about the results," said Dr Matthias Alt, Vauxhall/Opel's Chief Engineer, Small Gasoline Engines. "We not only set out to minimise fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, we also wanted to demonstrate that three cylinders can be just as refined as four or more," he went on to say.
The Adam is the first Opel to use the new engines and will come with two versions - producing 90hp or 115hp, both delivering 166Nm of torque from only 1,800rpm. Opel has also recently launched what it calls a 'whisper diesel' - a 1.6 CDTi engine - and claims segment leading refinement. Also, by using start-stop functionality, the combined fuel economy is 62mpg.
Opel says it has heavily revised the transmission as well and introduced a new six-speed gearbox design with a dry weight that is 30 per cent less than that of the outgoing engine. The revisions are said to make the gearbox lighter to use with a shorter throw.
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Customers thinking of buying the Adam won't have long to wait, though. The new engines will be available before the summer.