Fiat shows new fuel-saving system

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - Fiat unveiled an engine technology this week that it says can reduce fuel consumption as much as 25 percent.

The system will be available to all of Fiat's current and future partners, including Chrysler, Fiat powertrain chief Alfredo Altavilla said at the Geneva Auto Show.

The first engine using the system is to go on sale in the Alfa Romeo MiTo sporty compact in Europe this year. The MiTo is among the cars that Fiat's Alfa Romeo brand hopes to sell in the United States if its alliance with Chrysler comes to pass.

Called Multiair, the system uses electronic controls and hydraulics to vary an engine's valve timing over a wider range than the mechanical systems automakers use today. Many automakers have turned to variable-valve timing to improve fuel economy and boost performance in recent years.

Development of Multiair began with Fiat's Ferrari Formula 1 racing team.

The system will initially be fitted to Fiat's 1.0-liter to 1.4-liter four-cylinder engines. It also is to be used on an upcoming line of 900cc two-cylinder engines the automaker has developed for use in small cars. Fiat eventually plans to use it on all its automotive engines.

Multiair reduces an engine's fuel consumption 10 percent, but its high power output will allow automakers to replace big engines with smaller ones, leading to the potential 25 percent decrease in overall fuel consumption, Altavilla said. It also reduces exhaust emissions by 40 percent to 60 percent, he said.

Fiat has proposed taking a 35 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for providing the struggling automaker with a variety of vehicle platforms and engine and transmission technologies to produce the small, fuel-efficient vehicles Chrysler needs.

If the alliance goes through, Chrysler would build vehicles, engines and transmissions based on Fiat technology, in addition to assembling Fiat and Alfa Romeo models at some of its North American assembly plants. Fiat could eventually raise its stake in Chrysler to a controlling 55 percent.

The Multiair system can be used on both gasoline and diesel engines. Fiat said it will allow diesels to meet strict 2014 European emissions limits without the costly exhaust-treatment systems other automakers have said they will use.

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