Ricardo and China’s Lifan to work on downsized 3-cyl TGDI engine

Ricardo and Chongqing Lifan Automobile Engine Co. Ltd (Lifan) have announced that they have signed a contract that will see the two companies work together in the development of a new 1.0 litre 3-cylinder Turbocharged Gasoline Direct Injection (TGDI) engine.

The contract signing ceremony was held at the Lifan Industry (group) Co. Ltd in Chongqing yesterday. Under the terms of the deal, Ricardo engineers based both at Ricardo Shanghai as well as at the company’s UK technical centres, will work with their counterparts at Lifan to develop the new 1.0 litre 3-cylinder TGDI engine.

The new engine will be a significant member of the Lifan engine family as it will help the company in meeting China Stage 4 Fuel Economy (FE) legislation requirements. NVH will be a significant focus of the project, including simulation and development of the engine as well as NVH performance when integrated into the vehicle so that consumer expectations of vehicle refinement can be met.

Commenting on the new contract with Lifan, Ricardo Asia president Gary Tan said: “The award to Ricardo of this contract marks a further development of the positive relationship between our two companies. Meeting China Stage 4 FE legislation is a significant challenge. While downsizing is one of the mainstream engine technology solutions, it causes difficulty in achieving sufficient vehicle refinement in terms of drivability, transient response and NVH, especially for 3- cylinder engine architecture. As Ricardo is very experienced in both powertrain engineering and vehicle integration, we are very pleased and confident that we can contribute to help Lifan in meeting this challenge.”