Engine Goodies Coming from Nissan

Japanese manufacturer Nissan announced yesterday the range of technologies it is preparing to release for the remainder of the 2010 fiscal year, “the culmination of the company's research and development efforts.” All the new technologies to be released by Nissan have been created as a result of the work done in the Nissan Green Program 2010 (NGP 2010) so, needless to say, they are all meant to provide great fuel efficiency and low emission levels.

"Nissan is continuously studying ways to reach the ultimate efficiency of its powertrains for further CO2 emission reduction. As a result of that, in fiscal 2010, Nissan will introduce a series of innovative technologies on its 3 and 4-cylinder gasoline engines as well as a new high-efficient hybrid system," said Shuichi Nishimura, Nissan Powertrain Engineering Division vice president said.

The main innovation to be released this year is the powertrain developed for the March vehicle (known to the rest of the world as the Micra). The system comprises a new 3-cylinder engine and next-generation XTRONIC CVT which give the vehicle a fuel consumption rating of 3.8l/100 km (62 mpg). The powertrain is completed by a new Idling Stop system with internal lock function.

This month, Nissan will launch in Japan the automatic transmission X-TRAIL equipped with a clean diesel engine (M9R), a combination which provides all the figures the vehicle needs to comply with Japan's post-new long-term regulations.

And the real goodies are yet to come. Nissan will launch this year a new hybrid system, comprised of an electronically controlled clutch positioned between the engine, motor and drive wheels. Expected to be the most efficient 2-clutch parallel full hybrid system, it will debut on the Infiniti M later in 2010.

Perhaps the most exciting news for tech heads is the introduction of what Nissan calls the world's first mass-produced 1.5-liter engine with dual injectors. Dubbed HR15DE, the engine will be seen on the Nissan Juke and promises to bring a 4 percent improvement in fuel consumption, compared to other engines in the same class.

New to the Nissan engine line-up is the MR16DDT 1.6l 4-cylinder engine, a unit which blends the power equivalent of a 2.5l engine and the fuel efficiency equivalent to a 1.8l one. This too will see its first use in the Nissan Juke.

The program which gave birth to the aforementioned technologies will not stop here, Nissan promising to continue the development of more environmentally friendly engines.