General Motors India (GMI) launched its new locally developed and modern ‘Smartech' engine at a ceremony presided here on Friday by the company President and Managing Director, Mr Karl Slym.
India is a key market for General Motors, Mr Slym said. “We are focused on leveraging our global resources as well as growing local capability to develop segment-leading vehicles and power trains in India for India,” he added.
The 1.2-litre engine was created by the GM Technical Centre, India, in Bangalore in cooperation with GM's new engine plant in Talegaon. It will be produced at the Talegaon facility for a range of new models offered by GM in India.
The new engine is the result of enormous research and development effort and thousands of hours of design, validation and testing, Mr Slym said.
It incorporates engineering changes which optimise engine performance for Indian conditions through innovative design techniques.
The engine demonstrates the true potential of GM's engineering and manufacturing capability across India, the GMI top honcho claimed.
The ‘Smartech' engine features aluminium cylinder heads, deep skirt cylinder block and lightweight pistons with low tension rings, which decreases weight and maximises fuel economy.
The engine also features a DOHC (dual overhead camshaft) valve-train with direct acting valve actuation to further improve the efficiency, a long runner plastic intake manifold for good low-end torque, and lightweight-counterbalanced crank shaft for great NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) values.
The engine has a maintenance-free inverted tooth timing chain drive system. The chain links engage at a lower impact speed, which decreases the noise generated for quiet operation.
The engine delivers uncompromised power and durability in a small package size, the company claimed.
Durability is ensured through the application of an epoxy coating on the cylinder block and anti-corrosion coating on cam cover baffles, and the use of stainless steel core plugs and bay to bay ventilation.