1.0-litre EcoBoost now powers 1 in 5 new Fords in Europe

Fresh from an unprecedented third successive International Engine of the Year award, Ford Motor Co’s small yet surprisingly powerful 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is Europe’s best-selling turbocharged petrol engine for the first six months of the year, according to Ford figures.

So far this year, one in every five vehicles Ford sold in Europe was equipped with a 1.0-litre EcoBoost, the engine block of which is small enough to fit on a sheet of A4 paper.

From January through June 2014, Ford sold approximately 120,000 1.0-litre EcoBoost vehicles, compared with 104,000 during the first six months of 2013 – an increase of more than 15 percent. For the first half of 2014, 1.0-litre EcoBoost models made up 47 percent of all B-MAX multi-activity vehicles sold, 33 percent of Focus sales, and 30 percent of Fiesta sales.

“Customers are clearly enjoying the benefits from a small engine that offers great fuel efficiency with no compromise to refinement or performance,” said Barb Samardzich, chief operating officer, Ford of Europe. “The range of models offering the 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine will rise to 11 when the all-new Mondeo is launched in the coming months, and the new 140bhp version in the Fiesta Red Edition and Black Edition shows there is even more potential.” 

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost was in June again named the 2014 International Engine of the Year for its drivability, performance, economy, refinement and technology – fighting off competition from premium brands and supercars.

More than 200 engineers and designers from Ford’s R&D centres in Aachen and Merkenich, Germany, and Dagenham and Dunton, UK, spent more than five million hours developing the three-cylinder 1.0-litre EcoBoost.  
The engine’s compact, low-inertia turbocharger spins at up to 248,000rpm – more than 4,000 times per second and almost twice the maximum rpm of the turbochargers powering 2014 F1 race car engines. The 140 PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine’s turbocharger delivers 1.6 bar (24 psi) of boost pressure. Peak firing pressure of 124 bar (1,800 psi) equates to a five-tonne African elephant standing on the piston.

“Setting a new global benchmark in powertrain engineering, this 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is proving a big success with the judges that matter most – our customers,” said Samardzich.

The engine has proved a firm favourite in the Netherlands where so far this year it has accounted for 38 percent of all Fords sold, while 35 percent of customers in Denmark have specified 1.0-litre models, as have 32 percent of customers in Switzerland. Worldwide it is now available in 72 countries. In India, the 1.0-litre EcoBoost powers the high-selling EcoSport SUV.