HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENGINE DOWNSIZING

he Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme has introduced regulations requiring the weighted average emissions of the cars sold by each manufacturer to meet regulated targets, with significant fines or penalties levied for non-conformance. Since Europe has taken the lead in the introduction of this legislation, other countries are following as they look to reduce vehicle emissions and meet UN global-warming targets. To achieve these targets, manufacturers initially focused R&D efforts on improvements in efficiency, weight-saving, aerodynamics, lowrolling-resistance tyres, taller gearing and several other factors. However, with targets becoming more onerous, manufacturers were forced to make significant changes to their engine lineups. New-generation engines featured internal friction reductions, were designed to run hotter, used lower-viscosity oils, and featured stop-start technology. Many of these were turbocharged; their increased outputs enabled them to replace