While many manufacturers are paving the way for 3-cylinder engines, German premium car maker, Mercedes-Benz, is looking elsewhere. Despite arch rivals, BMW, adopting a 3-cylinder gasoline engine for the i8, Mercedes has decided they are not going to follow the trend of downsizing via reducing the cylinders.
Mercedes has experimented with three-cylinder engines, but the vibration and loss of refinement, particularly at low speed operation when fuel savings could be maximized, are some compromises they can’t accept. “We have looked at three-cylinder engines, but there are too many compromises, such as refinement and the savings aren’t that significant,” Bernhard Heil, head of engine development.
Furthermore, to boost refinement, three-cylinder engines need balancer shafts, which add weight and cost, weighting the 3-cylinder engines on the negative side. Instead, they are looking to develop a second family of slightly smaller-capacity diesels with a swept volume smaller than the company’s 2.1L OM651 unit that powers the majority of rear-drive Mercedes cars.
While it seems all hope is lost for 3-cylinder engines for Mercedes, it isn’t as Mercedes is looking to introduce such engines for front-wheel drive models such as the A- and B-classes; the company may also look into adding hybrid related technologies for future front-wheel drive Mercedes.
[Source: Autocar]
