EMERGING POWERTRAIN TECHNOLOGIES PLAYING KEY ROLE IN FORD’S PRODUCT-LED RESURGENCE
2004 Geneva Motor Show (incl. photos for registered media users)
GENEVA, March 2, 2004 – Since embarking on its product-led transformation in 2000, Ford has revealed 41 new products in Europe, its aggressive pace in reaching a ‘45 in 5' launch commitment backed up by an equally aggressive initiative to grow the Blue Oval's powertrain technology portfolio.
Today, Ford's commitment to develop new powertrain technologies, while at the same time delivering a steady stream of new vehicles is evident. Ford customers now enjoy a far greater choice, and Ford has moved to be among the industry leaders in its powertrain offerings.
The new technologies are embodied by Ford's “Dura” branding.
“We've truly come a long way,” said Derrick Kuzak, vice president, Product Development, Ford of Europe. “Our product-led transformation was about more than great new vehicles. It was also a commitment that planted seeds of a new generation of powertrain technologies that would make our products more appealing and give customers more choice. We're reaping the benefits now, and so are our customers.”
Since the start of its technology initiative, Ford has embraced a common theme of “Dura” to communicate the durability and dependability of its engines and transmissions. The breadth of innovation is impressive and includes:
- A new range of diesel engines, branded Duratorq, includes premium high-pressure common-rail diesel engines across the Ford product spectrum.
- A broad line-up of petrol engines, branded Duratec and today exploring new directions including direct injection.
- An increasingly broad range of Durashift transmissions, which now includes new manuals and automatics plus auto-shift manual and continuously variable technologies.
Duratorq Diesel Engine Family Continues to Grow with new TDCi Variants
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Ford continues to broaden its Duratorq range of diesel engines, especially focusing on providing more high-pressure common-rail Duratorq TDCi (Turbocharged Diesel Common-rail injection) engines to meet increasing customer demand. Not only is the Duratorq TDCi range wider, but the availability of engines achieving the strict Euro Stage IV emissions rating is also growing.
Ford's Duratorq TDCi range – first introduced in 2001 – now spans a broad power band, from 68PS in the Ford Fiesta and Ford Fusion to 136PS in the Focus C-MAX. Soon the span will be even greater, as a 150PS TDCi engine will be added to the Mondeo range later in 2004.
The new top-of-the-line Duratorq TDCi engine for Mondeo is 2.2-litre in displacement and equipped with a variable geometry turbocharger for impressive performance. The new engine's torque output is targeted at 360 Nm, with up to 400 Nm of torque available for brief periods with Ford's patented overboost control.
Initially offered in Euro Stage III configuration, Ford expects to offer a Stage IV-compliant version by 2005. It will join the 130PS Stage IV 2.0-litre TDCi engine in the Mondeo range, which first introduced Stage IV to the TDCi range without the need for a Diesel Particulate Filter.
A variant of the 2.0-litre, the new 2.2-litre engine has been stroked from 86.0 to 94.6 millimetres for larger displacement, without compromising Mondeo's acclaimed high level of refinement and smooth running characteristics.
The new 150PS Duratorq TDCi will join the existing 115PS and 130PS variants in the Mondeo line-up, with each offering drivers different blends of power and performance, combined with great fuel economy across the range. Further technical details will be released closer to launch.
The 68PS Ford Fiesta TDCi is now available as a Stage IV version, with the Ford Fusion TDCi Stage IV following from May 2004.
Focus C-MAX also makes Stage IV news. Its optional Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is now available to customers on both the 1.6-litre 109PS, and 2.0-litre 136PS Duratorq TDCi engines. The new DPF system has been targeted to reduce particulate emissions by more than 98 per cent.
The DPF is a regenerative filter in the exhaust system that traps particulates, including soot and inorganic ash. The trapped soot particulates build up and the filter is capable of burning them off periodically to regenerate itself. Metallic catalysts, contained in a fuel additive, reduce the temperature level required for the regenerative process to take place within the filter seamlessly during vehicle operation.
The DPF has an estimated service life of 120,000 kilometres. It was developed in cooperation with PSA Peugeot Citroën.
The technological feasibility of this system combines the latest-generation common-rail injection processes and advanced engine management. This enables precise injection control of up to four injector actions – two additional post- and late-injection phases – on top of the existing injection phases of the Duratorq TDCi's common-rail system.
A new 136PS Duratorq TDCi engine becomes the top-of-the-range diesel engine for the Transit and Tourneo models, augmenting the popular 125PS TDCi engine in the range. Transit and Tourneo also offer four Duratorq TDDi (Turbocharged Diesel Direct injection) variants with outputs ranging from 85 to 125PS. More technical details of this new TDCi unit will be released closer to launch in the middle of 2004.
Duratec Petrol Engine Family to Expand with New 1.6-litre Duratec Ti-VCT
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Ford's equally broad range of petrol engines – Duratec – will also grow this year. Ford will launch the new 1.6-litre Duratec Ti-VCT – featuring twin variable camshaft timing for optimal performance, low-end torque and fuel economy – later in 2004.
The new engine – rated at 115PS – uses twin variable camshaft timing to generate more power than the 1.6-litre Duratec 100PS engine in the Focus range. Although torque is only marginally higher – 155 Nm at 4,200 rpm compared to 150 Nm at 4,000 rpm for the current 1.6-litre Duratec – the strength of the twin variable camshaft timing system is in the significant broadening of the torque band. At 2,000 rpm, the Duratec Ti-VCT engine already offers almost the same torque as at its peak level around 4,000 rpm. The torque band is very broad, similar to that of powerful turbo engines. Overall, these torquey characteristics mean that the Duratec Ti-VCT is a very responsive and powerful small engine, yet it consumes less fuel due to the efficiencies VCT delivers.
The Duratec Ti-VCT is capable of continuously varying the timing of both the intake and exhaust camshafts for optimal airflow, controlled by the Engine Control Unit (ECU). Oil pressure-driven rotor units adjust the angle of the camshaft relative to the cam sprockets to alter valve opening. At low engine speed, the ECU leaves the camshafts in their default position for optimal start-up performance. As engine speed increases, the ECU adjusts cam timing for better airflow, ensuring optimal performance and economy.
The new engine is expected to reduce fuel consumption by nearly 5 per cent compared with an equivalent non-Ti-VCT unit. Ford will release more information about the engine's availability and technical specifications later in 2004.
Ford's Duratec range of petrol engines – from the 1.3-litre in Ford Ka to the 3.0-litre V6 in Mondeo ST220, deliver optimal power, torque, fuel economy and dependability. The range also includes Ford's direct-injection 1.8-litre Duratec SCi – S mart C harge i njection – engine that debuted in the new Mondeo in 2003.
Ford is also preparing a performance version of the punchy 2.0-litre Duratec HE engine from the Mondeo range for exclusive use in the new Fiesta ST. Convinced of the performance potential of this engine, Ford engineers have already begun performance upgrades, starting with the free-breathing 150PS version for the forthcoming Fiesta ST.
Durashift Transmission Family Broadens Technology Choice
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Ford's transmission technologies have benefited from the Company's product-led investment.
Ford now offers an exceptional breadth of advanced Durashift transmissions, from EST (Electronic Shift Technology) to CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), along with advanced manual and automatic transmissions.
For 2004, there's more choice with the advent of the new continuously variable Durashift CVT – now available to Focus C-MAX buyer – and a new small-car Durashift Automatic.
New for the Ford Focus C-MAX is the availability of an advanced automatic transmission system called Durashift CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). Available on Focus C-MAX 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi models, Durashift CVT provides outstanding smoothness and complements the driving fun that already makes the Focus C-MAX special in its segment. Although revolutionary in the technology of its torque transmission, the Durashift CVT delivers the same superior driving comfort and refinement that would be expected from a perfectly tuned, advanced, multi-speed automatic.
Durashift CVT is particularly well matched to the impressive torque (240 Nm) and relatively narrow rev band of the TDCi engine in Focus C-MAX. Specifically designed for front-wheel-drive, package-efficient vehicles and jointly developed to production level by Ford engineers and transmission experts from ZF, the Durashift CVT provides new levels of refinement and driving dynamics as well as good fuel economy.
Durashift CVT uses a high-strength steel thrust-link belt instead of gears. Like a bicycle that can select from different pedal and wheel gears, Durashift CVT's twin bevelled variator pulleys – one for engine input and a second for transmission output – allow the transmission to achieve an infinite number of transmission ratios between set limits.
The driver has the option of choosing between an automatic mode with (under some circumstances) stepless ratios and a pre-programmed, seven-speed select-shift mode optimally matching the diesel rev range. Both provide the benefits of continuously variable power transmission across a wide range – Durashift CVT boasts an impressive factor of 6 between its lowest effective ratio (0.423:1) and the highest (2.52:1).
Drivers simply select their preferred driving mode – automatic or select-shift – by touching the gear lever or kicking down the accelerator pedal. Ford Durashift CVT will do the rest.
Such gear changes are instantaneous, because no gears need to be engaged or synchronised. All that is needed inside the gearbox is a swift adjustment of the bevel gears, performed instantaneously by a special radial piston oil pump.
“The Durashift CVT is really a fun-to-drive transmission,” said the Vehicle Line Director for the Focus C-MAX, Gunnar Herrmann. “It offers refined and seamless driving characteristics and gives the driver the choice of two driving modes, either as a smooth automatic or a manual.”
In automatic mode, the Ford Durashift CVT feels very similar to a conventional multi-speed automatic transmission. It completely avoids the typical sound of earlier generations of continuously variable transmissions, which failed to provide familiar aural feedback about acceleration and vehicle speed.
Durashift CVT avoids such an undesirable sound pattern because it has been programmed to vary the gear ratios in the automatic mode in logical progression. This provides the feel of a state-of-the-art multi-speed automatic transmission with well-balanced shifting program and clutches.
The transmission uses a compact yet stiff hydrodynamic torque converter, fitted with a lockup clutch, which eliminates converter slip at higher engine and vehicle speeds for better fuel economy. A simple planetary gearset with two hydraulic clutches, which may be actuated under load as well, is used exclusively for changing between forward and reverse.
“Technologies like the new Durashift CVT provide multiple customer benefits that strengthen the appeal of Ford products,” Kuzak said. “That was the philosophy behind our commitment to broadening our powertrain technologies, and why it was such an important aspect of our product-led commitment. Be assured we have no intention of letting up.”
Durashift Automatic, a new, fully automatic four-speed transmission, is now available with the Ford Fiesta and the Ford Fusion.
With this addition, Ford boasts a powertrain range that is one of the most comprehensive in the small car sector.
The Durashift Automatic transmission is a latest generation, electronically controlled four-speed transmission, with exceptionally smooth gear shifting to provide the type of relaxed and fuss-free driving experience that a significant proportion of small car drivers require. It joins the Durashift EST (Electronic Shift Technology) advanced manual transmission and the Durashift five-speed manual transmission in the Ford small-car range.
Mated with the peppy 100PS, 1.6-litre Ford Duratec 16V engine, Durashift Automatic provides Fiesta and Fusion with exceptional shifting quality and responsive driving characteristics more usually associated with sportier vehicles. It contributes to a 0-100 kph (62 mph) acceleration time of 11.7 seconds, and a maximum speed of 179 kph (111 mph).
“In Fiesta, the Durashift Automatic reinforces the car's excellent reputation for driving quality, by offering a combination of flexible performance and smooth shifting. It also adapts its behaviour to ensure this drivability is maintained in different driving conditions, such as in hilly environments,” said Mark Harvey, Vehicle Integration Supervisor for the Fiesta and Fusion Durashift Automatic. “The Fusion Durashift Automatic transmission is also great to drive in urban environments with its agile response and ease of use complementing the car's manoeuvrability around town.”
The new transmission has been carefully engineered for the best overall performance. It eliminates many of the compromises often found in compact automatic vehicles, while providing all the advantages of a fully automatic powertrain.
Durashift Automatic is expected to further the market success of Ford's new small-car range. A total of 425,000 Fiesta and Fusion models were sold in Europe in 2003.
Durashift Automatic and Durashift CVT are the latest in a flow of advanced transmissions, which also include the Durashift EST advanced manual, the Durashift 5-Tronic and the Durashift 6-speed manual.