Geely announces 1.3 turbo motor

The Emgrand EC7 arrives in SA next month; it will eventually be fitted with the new 1.3T engine.

The Emgrand EC7 arrives in SA next month; it will eventually be fitted with the new 1.3T engine.

Published Apr 8, 2013

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Not many car companies outside of Europe have really embraced the 'down-sized' engine philosophy in which smaller turbo-charged engines are replacing the traditional big-displacement normally aspirated ones.

Which is why it comes as quite a surprise that Geely is developing a new range of compact force-fed engines.

Given that the Chinese carmaker now owns Volvo, it would be tempting to ask whether these engines will be based on Volvo's current range of turbopetrols (which are related to Ford's EcoBoost engines), but our contact tells us that while expertise has obviously be transferred from Volvo, the engines remain Geely's own developments.

The first engine to be announced is a new 1.3-litre turbopetrol, which Geely says will produce around 100kW and 190Nm.

It will eventually be fitted to the new EC7 in South Africa, although initial versions of the sedan - scheduled to arrive in May this year - will make do with a normally aspirated 1.8-litre engine. Click here for our EC7 driving impressions.

Geely also has plans to expand its new turbo family to include 1.0T, 1.5T and 1.8T engines, along with a direct fuel injection system.

What's more, the company recently bought Australian gearbox manufacturer DSI, and is now working on a new range of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, which will make it into the EC7 and other products.

On that note, Geely plans to reveal a glut of new models at the Shanghai motor show later this month, including a few SUVs and a sports car.

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