RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW...proclaimed Ford’s director of north American design, Peter Horbury, as...

RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW

Q1,

200

6

CROSS-COUNTRYCOLLABORATION

Roadmap to the futureHow diesel engines will face up to theworld’s toughest emissions regulations

Long-term partnersFord and Ricardo on their successful diesel collaboration

InterviewDr Ulrich Dohle, head of diesel at Bosch

Suzuki, Renault and Ricardo bring the Grand Vitara

diesel to market in record time

Diesel special

Head office:

Ricardo plc, Shoreham-by-Sea,West Sussex, BN43 5FG, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1273 455611

Ricardo contacts and locations:

www.ricardo.com/contacts RQ subscriptions: www.ricardo.com/rq Sales enquiries:

[email protected]

Conceived and produced for Ricardo by:

TwoTone Media Ltd Editor:Tony Lewin Contributors: Mark Roberts, Anthony SmithTwoTone Media Ltd contacts:

Anthony Smith: [email protected] Tony Lewin: [email protected]

ContentsRICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW Q1, 2006

RICARDO QUARTERLYREVIEW

news

04 Industry newsDetroit show highlights production-ready hybrids; Audidevelops diesel racers for Le Mans; Ford’s monster truckhas hydrogen capability; US states join California tocontrol greenhouse emissions

24 Ricardo newsGrand Prix masters use Ricardo transmissions;Mitsubishi’s Dakar victory; awards for Ricardo 2/4SIGHTand GM Global V6 programmes; new appointmentsstrengthen Ricardo’s global team

questions and answers

06 Ulrich DohleDr Ulrich Dohle is head of diesel at Bosch, the world’slargest diesel systems supplier, Tony Lewin asks him how diesel can adapt to meet the world’s strictestemissions standards

features

08 Diesel SpeedsterIt’s not in the Opel catalogue, so Ricardo built one. Theidea was to show Bosch the future sporting potential oflow-emissions diesel – and the results are sensational

10 Suzuki Grand VitaraSuzuki, Renault and Ricardo have just completed a three-partner programme to deliver a diesel version of the new-generation compact SUV. Tony Lewin reports on a projectthat went from feasibility study to Job One in record time

16 Driving diesel into the futureExciting engineering developments mean that diesels willsoon break through into north America. Tony Lewin unfoldsthe roadmap that shows how diesel will take its placealongside hydrogen and gasoline as a truly clean fuel

20 Long term partnersFord and Ricardo have a long history of co-operation ondiesel programmes. Anthony Smith charts a fruitfulrelationship that has delivered successful engines formodels as varied as the Jaguar X-Type and Ford Transit

10 20

0806

Industry News

New

s in

brie

f Half-million hybridsToyota announced in thefourth quarter that itscumulative worldwide hybridsales had passed the 500,000mark. Further hybrid modelsappear in 2006.

Prius built in ChinaToyota’s Sichuan FAW plant inChina began making Priushybrids last month. This is thefirst time a Toyota-grouphybrid has been built in afacility outside Japan.

Mahindra hybrid shownThe first Indian-developedhybrid, a diesel-electricMahindra Safari SUV, wasdisplayed at New Delhi’s AutoExpo, along with hydrogenand electric power systems.

Renault claims diesel leadA new generation of two-litrediesels developed by Renaultand Nissan claims to set newefficiency standards, with 175hp and 6 lit/100 km in its top,DPF-equipped version.

04 RICARDO QUARTERLY REVIEW • Q1, 2006

Small cars, hybrids and diesel werethe talk of the 2006 NAIAS auto

show in Detroit, though the stylish FordReflex concept (pictured) was the onlyexhibit to combine all three trends in asingle vehicle.

“Small is becoming big in America,”proclaimed Ford’s director of northAmerican design, Peter Horbury, as heunveiled the Reflex, a neat coupépowered by an advanced diesel-electrichybrid powertrain. Unusually, it is athrough-the-road hybrid, with the 1.4litre TDCi diesel driving the front axleand an electric motor powering the rearwheels.

CEO Bill Ford promised in Novemberto boost Ford’s hybrid sales tenfold to250,000 units by 2010; at January’sshow he confirmed that half of thegroup’s Ford, Mercury and Lincolnmodel ranges would have hybridversions.

GM countered with its firstshowroom-ready hybrid, the 2007Saturn Vue compact SUV and showedthe 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid, thefirst to feature the Two-Mode hybridsystem co-developed withDaimlerChrysler and BMW. Contained

within the envelope of the automatictransmission casing, the Two Modesystem achieves a claimed 25 per centfuel saving in the V8-powered Tahoe.The Saturn Vue Green Line is a mildhybrid and obtains fuel savings of 20per cent with its belt-driven motorgenerator – but its most significantfeature is a price premium of just $2000over the standard gasoline-only model.

For DaimlerChrysler, diesel engineswere the focus. The group’s newBluetec suite of technologies promisescompliance with 2007’s stringent 50-state Tier 2 Bin 5 standards and willfeature in a variety of models, includingthe Mercedes E, ML, GL and R classes;it was also shown on a Jeep GrandCherokee, though no sale plans weredisclosed.

Yet the biggest breakthrough of all ispromised by the Toyota Camry,America’s best-selling car. A newedition was presented in Detroit,complete with a hybrid derivative witha 2.4 litre four-cylinder engine giving192 horsepower in combination withthe electric motor and CVTtransmission. It will be made in the USat a rate of 50,000 a year.

Detroit: hybrids for middle America

Chevrolet Tahoe (top) is the first to show Dual

Mode hybrid system; belt drive motor

generator hybrid option on Saturn Vice (above)

costs just $2000

Following GM’s Novemberannouncement that it would close 12north American plants and shed 30,000jobs, Ford has come up with a parallel setof measures which also seek to reducecapacity by around a million units.

Statistics compiled by HarbourConsulting show that in 2005 Toyota’snorth American production facilities wereoperating at 111 per cent capacityutilisation, with Nissan and Honda on 97.DaimlerChrysler managed 93 per centutilisation and GM 87, but for Ford thefigure was only 79 per cent.

Ford’s “Way Forward” measuresinclude the closure of 14 assembly andcomponent plants, the loss of up to30,000 jobs, and a 12 per cent reductionin the company’s officer headcount. Themeasures should lead to profitability innorth America by 2008.

Ford, GM swallowbitter medicine

Ford’s Reflex concept links a diesel hybrid

powertrain to an attractive compact coupé

format. Ford has promised to build 250,000

hybrids a year by 2010

SUV loophole closedSport utility vehicles will no longerbe able to exploit the less stringentemissions regulations enjoyed bycommercial vehicles, according toEU industry commissionerGunther Verheugen.

Porsche plans hybrid sedanSports car maker Porsche willinclude a hybrid version of itsplanned four-door luxury sedan“from the outset”, according toGerman magazine auto, motorund sport.

Clean car tax creditsUnited States customers forhybrids and other clean vehiclesget additional tax credits fromJanuary 2006: the theoreticalceiling is $4500, with a Priusattracting a $3150 benefit.

FCV road approvedNissan has been grantedapproval to road test its X-Trailfuel-cell vehicle in Japan with 35MPa hydrogen storage. A 70MPa pressure version will betested in Canada later this year.

RICARDOQUARTERLYREVIEW

Q1, 2006 • RICARDO QUARTERLY REVIEW 05

Audi’s Le Mans diesel

Seven US states, including Oregon,Massachusetts and Connecticut, aim tojoin California in imposing CO2-emissionlimits on automakers, a policy opposedby the Federal Environmental ProtectionAgency. The CO2 limits would be inaddition to existing and planned pollutantemissions limits.

The auto industry has foughtvigorously against the Californiaproposals, which take effect from the2009 model year and call for a 30 percentreduction in greenhouse gas emissionsby 2016. The proposed standards wouldrequire big design changes, say thecarmakers, pushing up costs significantly.State regulators are taking the initiative,according to the Washington Post,because the Federal government and theEPA have been too slow to act.

States adopt California CO2 rules

Audi R10 will compete for

overall victory at Le Mans –

on diesel fuel

The task of RQ is to highlight the latestthinking in automotive engineering andtechnology worldwide – both withinRicardo and among other leadingcompanies. By presenting an up-to-datemix of news, profiles and interviews withtop business leaders we paint aninteresting and exciting picture of R&Dactivity at a world-class automotiveengineering services provider.

It is a formula that has certainly been ahit with the worldwide automotivecommunity: in the five years since RQwas launched we have had to increaseour print run to 14,000 copies to keeppace with the demand to read aboutRicardo and its activities.

Client confidentiality is of the utmostimportance to Ricardo, which means thatwe can only report on a small fraction ofthe work carried out by the company. Sowe are especially grateful to thoseRicardo customers who have kindlyagreed to co-operate with RQ and allowtheir programmes to be highlighted inprint: without such help from customers itwould not be possible to present such afascinating insight into the way vehiclesare conceived and developed.

Audi is to field a team of diesel-powered endurance racing cars in

the 2006 Le Mans 24 Hours, widelyregarded as the toughest race on thecompetition calendar. This will be thefirst time diesel fuel has been used intop-level motor sport.

The R10 racers, powered by new5.5 litre V12 turbo diesel engines, willfight for overall victory, says Audi. Theall-aluminium design uses injectionpressures which “easily exceed” the1600 bar achieved in production carsand gives a power output of over 650hp, along with over 1100 Nm torque.Boost from the twin Garrettturbochargers is limited to theregulation 2.94 bar absolute and,

claims Audi, the wide useablepowerband between 3000 and 5000rev/min will mean drivers having tobecome accustomed to making fewergear changes. The diesel engine isvery smooth and surprisingly quiet,according to Audi.

Twin diesel particle filters willensure that the R10 emits no blacksmoke. Disappointingly forspectators, however, this also meansthat R10s will not produce spectacularflames on the overrun, caused ingasoline racers by unburnt fueligniting in the exhaust system.

Vast, powered by a 6.8 litre V10 engine andinspired by a classic railway locomotive,Ford’s F-250 Super Chief is hardly theimage of an environmentally friendlytruck. Yet its Tri-Flex engine can switchbetween three different fuels – gasoline,E85 ethanol and hydrogen. Switching tohydrogen mode brings the superchargerinto action to liftpower and

torque to similar levels to gasolineoperation; Ford claims that on hydrogenthe V10 provides up to 12 per cent fueleconomy improvement on an energy-equivalent basis versus a non-supercharged gasoline V10.

The hydrogen system has its ownseparate fuel rails and injectors, and thetruck can run for a claimed 500 milesbetween fill-ups. Production of the Super

Chief is unlikely, says Ford, butsome of its design ideas may

emerge in later models.

Tri-fuel monster truck

EGR rates and maybe closed loopcontrol of combustion. This could bedone by using a compression sensor.Then there’s aftertreatment: eitherlean-NOx trap or SCR technology willbe required. You need to pull all stringsto get to Bin 5 – it really is very, verychallenging.

How much is fuel quality an issuein north America?It’s a big issue. The European dieselcars now being used in the US arefitted with extra packages whichprotect against wear within the fuel

injection system. It’s water, particlesand the low lubricity of the fuel, whichis a consequence of thedesulphurisation process. Our surveysshow that the fuel quality in the USruns from very good to very bad – soit’s not homogeneous.

Gasoline direct injection (GDI)engines have improved rapidly inrecent years. Are you worried theymight pose a threat to diesel?I am definitely concerned. The gapbetween GDI performance and dieselis getting narrower. In terms of fuelconsumption, if you do a good jobwith GDI the fuel consumption gapwhich is now 25 to 30 per cent willcome down to 15 or 20 per cent.Secondly, when GDIs are used asperformance engines they will comewith a turbocharger, and the turbo willdo something very good for them: itwill improve torque. This means thatthe main benefit of the diesel engine –high torque at low engine speeds –could also be offered by gasoline

There’s a lot of talk these daysabout diesel vehicles going to theUnited States. What are thechallenges involved for dieselengineers?The US emissions legislation really isthe biggest challenge we are currentlyfacing. Tier 2, Bin 5 is more severethan Euro 5. So we have to get rawemissions down, which involvesworking towards homogeneouscombustion – perhaps not the wholething, but implementing steps whichare part of the homogeneous concept,like reduced compression ratio, higher


RQ Interview – Ulrich Dohle

Diesel’s No1 ManDr Ulrich Dohle, president of diesel systems at theworld’s biggest supplier, Bosch, talks to Tony Lewin

about 2500 bar injection, hybrids, GDI, Euro 5, Euro6, fuel quality and diesel’s prospects in the UnitedStates and emerging markets

engines, though there’s still a trade-offwith consumption. So, to summarise,GDI could close the gap somewhat,but it won’t eliminate the gap.

The cost of hybrids is comingdown, but diesels are becomingmore complex and moreexpensive. Could hybrids becomean alternative to diesel?Hybrids are coming down and dieselsgoing up, but they’re so far apart that Idon’t think they’ll ever cross. If youlook into the elements of a hybrid car,everything adds cost – the hugebattery is close to €1000, for instance.Then there’s the electric motor,the electronic managementsystem and otherhardware.

On the otherhand, we’ve learned from the

Lexus RX400h that you can actuallytake cost out, too – because thegearbox shrinks to a simple planetarydevice, which is a beautiful concept.But in total you’re playing in a veryexpensive league here: clearly, costswill come down somewhat witheconomies of scale, but at the end ofthe day there will still be a gap – to theadvantage of the diesel.

Common rail led to major advancesin diesel performance. What are thenext big steps you see coming?


Common rail is basically a family, sowhat we do is to continue to developsuccessive generations. We startedwith 1350 bar; now 1600 bar isstandard and this year we willintroduce an 1800 bar piezo systemand the following year –2007 – wewant to hit the market with 2000 bar.We have postponed our 2500 barsystem slightly because Euro 5[less severe than anticipated]does not require suchpressure. That’sour fourth-

generation systemand uses pressure

amplification: we’ve beendeveloping it for nearly three yearsnow, with very good progress andresults in terms of raw emissions. It’snot yet required for passenger carsand light duty [trucks]; however, weare working on it for heavy duty, andfor this the pressure amplifier systemwill go onto the market this year.

Do you see a limit at 2500 bar?What else can be gained?You are really challenging the physicsof the materials if you go beyond this.We produce these injectors at a rate of50,000 or 60,000 a day, so everythingin the supply chain needs to be perfect– the raw materials, the steel suppliers,the steel mills, everything. Every 100bar is a challenge in itself: we can talk

about the move from 1200 to 1800 to2000 bar in just one sentence, but it’s amajor stretch for the materials and themanagement of the production plants.We’re now working on third-generationcarbon layers for our pump, acomponent which is also beingstressed to the maximum. In our testlab we’ve been running systems at3000 bar: the story goes on – you bringmore energy into the fuel mixing, youget still finer droplets and betterdistribution of the spray.

If a future Euro 6 emissionstandard in, say, 2015, halved theNOx and PM levels of Euro 5, howwould diesel cars cope?On particulates I think we have cometo a limit at 5 mg,which won’tbe stretchedfurther.

Euro 6 will definitely target NOx, so Iwould say that the systems that arecapable of Tier 2 Bin 5 will also becapable [if Euro 6 NOx is half that ofEuro 5]. The Speedster we havedeveloped with Ricardo is already halfof the Euro 5, for instance.

Diesel has not yet penetratedlower-cost cars such as Europe’sA-segment and emerging markets.Are there any solutions that couldenable a genuinely low-costdiesel?It’s definitely a challenge, especially foremerging markets with low-costconcepts like the €5000 car. We thinkthat by re-engineering some of ourcomponents we can take costs out –these are features that do the job forEuro 4 or Euro 5 but which aren’tneeded for Euro 2 or Euro 3. Based onthat, we have begun to look at morecost-effective solutions for futureprogrammes.

“The US emissions legislation really is thebiggest challenge we are currently facing.Tier 2, Bin 5 is more severe than Euro 5. So wehave to get raw emissions down, whichinvolves working towards homogeneouscombustion”

Bosch HADI injector

will supply pressures

upto 2500 bar

Insider knowledge comes up trumps

Very much on the positive side,however, was Ricardo’s intimateknowledge of Bosch fuel injection andcontrol systems as well as its extensiveexperience of the GM 1.9 litre powerunit, born out of several researchprogrammes with it. These includedthe Fiat-GM-Powertrain, VROM andRicardo Low NOx DemonstratorProgramme. “We know this engine likethe back of our hand from thecollaborative low NOx programme,”said Speedster project engineer ChrisWard. “We’d already done lots of workon it to reach very low engine-outemissions, so we had a pretty goodidea of the specific approach neededfor the Speedster. Euro 4+ was ourstarting point for development.”

Knowledge of the terrain enabled theengine team to get off to a flying starton the internal changes to thepowerplant itself. The first step was toreplace the standard pistons withbespoke ones giving a reduced

compression ratio of 16.5:1 withRicardo Euro 5+ bowl geometrycarefully tailored to reworked portsand inlet manifold giving optimisedcombustion characteristics.

The EGR cooler operated with asophisticated model-based bypasscontrol allowing control of manifoldtemperature under warm-up and light-load operation to give the optimumcontrol of HC and CO emissions undervery low NOx operation. The reducedcompression ratio allowed a furtherreduction in gas temperatures toensure a substantial cut in raw NOxemissions, and revised injector nozzleswere specified to optimise fuel dropletdistribution.

On the front of the engine a GarrettStep 3 turbocharger took over from thestandard Vectra unit. “This,” says Ward,“is a great match for the low emissions150hp engine. It allows optimum part-load operation for best emissions andefficiency, with fast response andexcellent low speed boost.”

High performance clean diesel

The challenge was simple, buteven by the daunting standardsof Ricardo programmes it was

quite a tough one. What the people from Bosch wanted

was a diesel car that would meet themuch-tightened worldwide emissionsstandards expected for 2015. Noproblem, one might imagine – a world-class organisation like Ricardo couldeasily have developed a design in goodtime before the regulations came intoforce. But the Bosch request wassomewhat more urgent: the programmewas needed within weeks rather thanmonths or years. Twelve weeks, to beprecise.

That’s the kind of programmeturnaround that would give even aFormula One team boss a headache.

The starting point for theprogramme was an Opel SpeedsterTurbo, one of the fastest and lightestcompact sports cars on the market,together with an Opel Vectra equippedwith the latest GM 1.9 litre turbo dieselengine, and, naturally, fitted withBosch diesel injection equipment.

While it was recognised that thegasoline and diesel engines are bothfitted in many GM cars, it was clearthat the differences were significantand that the diesel engine would notbe a straight swap. All four enginemounts had to be repositioned and thesix speed gearbox gave very differentdriveshaft positions – and there was afurther hurdle on the electrical front:the Vectra operates on a CAN buselectronic architecture, which wasincapable of communicating with theSpeedster’s hardware. As a result anew engine ECU had to be specified.


The diesel Speedster and future emissions standards

Speedster Speedster Proposed Possible

turbo turbo Euro 5 limits Euro 6 limits

gasoline g/km diesel g/km for 2010 g/km for 2015 g/km

HC 0.059 0.023 – –

CO 0.329 0.075 0.500 0.500

NOx 0.042 0.067 0.200 0.100

HC+NOx 0.101 0.090 0.250 0.150

PM – 0.001 0.005 0.005

CO2 202 119.5 140* >120*

All values in g/km. Source: Ricardo, EU; *= ACEA fleet average targets 2008, 2012

fast, fun and ultra clean

When Bosch needed a demonstratorto show its board members the long-term low-emission potential of diesel,it asked Ricardo to adapt a lightweightOpel Speedster sports car. The resultis a spectacular performer that canalready meet the limits expected for2015 and beyond

On the inlet side the standard chargeair cooler from the gasoline car wasfound to be adequate, even thoughdiesels have a much greater airthroughput; on the exhaust system thestandard Vectra oxidation catalyst,cross pipe and flexi were retained, withthe middle part of the system – justbehind the transaxle – modified toaccept a state-of-the-art dieselparticulate filter (DPF). The silencer andtailpipe were the stock Speedster items.

A tight fit

It was only when the diesel engine waspoised on the winch above theSpeedster’s compact, central enginebay that the Ricardo engineers realisedjust how many fine adjustments weregoing to have to be made to allow thisunit to sit comfortably on its mounts.In many places there was insufficient –or even zero – clearance betweencomponents and the chassis subframe,requiring some rework.

“The success of this project was inthe focus on resolving many very finedetails in record time,” remembersChris Ward. “Things like the gear inputsensor, the signal for the speedometer,the brake lights – they were all trickybecause they were affected by thechange of engine ECU.”

Such was the extent of the extraelectrical componentry, in fact, that ofthe 45 kg weight gain the Speedsterunderwent, ten kg was down to theadditional wiring.

Calibration

Ricardo’s solid bank ofexperience with dieselcalibration again provedinvaluable when it came tocalibrating the engine in itsnew, and much lighterinstallation. The major part of


the calibration was completed in adesk-top environment such that lessthan one week was needed tocomplete the first level emissions anddriveability calibration in the car.

“It’s much more driveable than thegasoline model,” says Ward. “Thegasoline car picks up very stronglybetween 4000 and 6500 rev/min whenthe turbo comes in – it’s very rapidthen. But with the diesel the torque isin a much more useable place, muchlower down the rev range.

“There’s a huge amount of torquefrom below 2000 rpm,” enthuses Ward.“And the ratios of the six-speedgearbox make very good use of this.”

All who have driven the Speedsteragree it is a powerful drivingexperience: even Dr Ulrich Dohle, headof diesel at Bosch, grins broadly at therecollection of his experience in the car.

Engineers are rarely satisfied,however, and Chris Ward commentsthat with further development “wecould have got it even better.”

Serious fun

With the Speedster, especially in itsnew diesel form, providing such athrilling drive, it is easy to forget thatthere is a serious side to theprogramme, too. The mission of thisproject was to demonstrate that even

cars which comply with the strictestemissions regulations in the world canbe fun too. The Speedster proves thisbeyond all doubt.

Right now, in Europe, Euro 5 limitsproposed for 2010 will allow 80 per centof today’s emissions of NOx, and withjust one fifth of today’s particleemissions. The Speedster’s mission wasto achieve these results or better – butonce again it exceeded expectations.Not only did it prove even more fun todrive than anticipated, but it alsoundershot those emissions values by aconsiderable margin. By enough of amargin, in fact, to meet the predictedEuro 6 standards that could well runfrom 2015 to 2020 – less than half thevalues of Euro 5.

At the end of the vehicle’s shortdevelopment period, it clocked upimpressive scores on the emissionsdyno – see panel – and an even moreimpressive fuel consumption figure: atjust 4.6 lit/100 km or 120 g CO2 per kmit is one of the most economical carson the road.

Next steps

Two diesel Speedsters have been builtby Ricardo: the first is with Bosch, whilethe second has stayed with Ricardo.Both will be updated in parallel as newdevelopments are introduced.

The first major target will be toachieve compliance with US Tier

2 Bin 5 norms, widelyregarded as even more

severe than Euro 5. This will involvefurther development of very low engine-out emissions with DPF, pending evenlower emissions with furtheraftertreatment development.

One way or another, however, thismuch is clear: if there’s a way to makeemissions compliance fun, then thismust be it.

Ian Penny of Ricardo and Dr Ulrich

Dohle of Bosch (top left) discuss the

diesel Speedster programme,

completed in 12 weeks.


Suzuki Grand Vitara

Japan, India and Asia, and onlightweight SUVs, which have found areceptive audience the world over.

As the world’s largest single market,Europe naturally figures strongly inSuzuki’s strategy, with a plant havingopened in Hungary in 1993. Suzukinow sells upwards of a quarter of amillion cars annually in Europe. Butthis advance, along with the steadyincrease in size and sophistication ofits passenger cars and SUVs, hasgiven Suzuki a dilemma – what to doabout diesel engines.

Second-generation Grand Vitara

Diesels are fast becoming a marketingnecessity, even in the A- and B-sectorswhere Suzuki’s small cars compete.But in the SUV segment a diesel is anabsolute essential: without a diesel,you’re nowhere.

“According to our research,” saysKoji Yamada, SUV vehicle lineexecutive at Suzuki, “about 70 per cent

Suzuki is something of a well keptsecret in the international autoindustry, even though it is a

major player in the motorcyclebusiness and the two million unitoutput of its automobile operationsplaces it twelfth in the world carproduction league.

Yet despite these impressivenumbers, Suzuki rarely figures on thecomment pages of the world’s financialjournals. The reason is simple: Suzukiis one of very few automakers to havebeen consistently profitable – andconsistently expanding – ever sinceanyone can remember. This growth isso steady and so predictable that, tothe news-hungry city editor, Suzukisimply isn’t news.

The company’s expansion has beenbuilt on small cars, such as the Alto, in

Suzuki, Renault and Ricardo have just completed a three-partner programme to deliver a state-of-the-art diesel version of the new-generationGrand Vitara SUV. Tony Lewin reports on a challenging project which wentfrom feasibility study to series production in a remarkable 19 months


Cross-countryCOLLABORATION

of Grand Vitara-class SUV sales inEurope’s top-five markets in the firsthalf of 2005 were diesel-powered.That’s based on our own previousGrand Vitara, the Toyota RAV-4, NissanX-Trail and Honda CR-V.”

Suzuki’s dilemma was clear. WithEuropeans expected to buy almosthalf the 180,000 planned annualvolume of the new Grand Vitara, astate-of-the-art diesel derivative was amust if Suzuki was to stay ahead ofthe game.

“The diesel version is indispensableto the car business in Europe,” saysYamada. “We expect that the salesvolume of diesel version will be, at amaximum, 50,000 units out of thewhole new Grand Vitara annual targetin Europe.”

Yet even this volume would still notbe large enough to make it worthwhilefor Suzuki to develop its own diesel.

Thus it was that Yamada and histeam decided to continue Suzuki’s

Grand Vitara: Suzuki chose Renault as diesel

engine supplier; Renault chose Ricardo as

development partner

was to run with a diesel particulatefilter (DPF) and meet Euro IVemissions levels right from the start.

“That’s the reason why we choseRicardo straight away to sub-contractthis programme,” says Bernard Lasnel,engineering general manager atRenault Moteurs and responsible forrunning the programme.

“We based our choice on the factthat Ricardo had already developedSUVs with DPFs for other customers,”he recalls. “It was the key issue for mein making the choice. We needed tomake sure there was enoughexperience there.”

In fact, says Lasnel, the DPFregeneration and supervisorcalibration proceeded according toplan and achieved the demandingcalibration targets, even in slow speedcity drive cycles.

The starting point for the programmewas an initial feasibility study. Ricardoworked with mule Méganecomponents to simulate the engine’semissions performance under thehigher road load curve of the heavierand less aerodynamically efficient SUVvehicle, while Renault worked inparallel in establishing the feasibility ofthe north-south engine location.

“We achieved encouraging resultsfrom this study,” remembers PhilMortimer, chief programme engineeron the Ricardo side. “So Suzuki andRenault made the decision to moveforward on the basis of these results.

Division of responsibility

A major element in the success of theprogramme was the way the differentresponsibilities were subcontracted


policy of buying in its diesel enginesfrom European specialists; this hadbeen successful in the past, with a 1.5litre Renault K9K unit going into thecompact Jimny SUV, Fiat-GM’s Z13DTpowering the small passenger carsand PSA’s DW10TD under the bonnetof the outgoing Vitara range.

Yet for the much more luxurious new-generation Grand Vitara, somethingmore powerful would be required –something that would allow Suzuki tocompete on level terms with the bestfrom Europe, Japan and the US.

Renault: selected as engine supplier

Though the commercial details areunderstandably confidential, it ispretty clear that Suzuki’s search for anengine provider for the new GrandVitara began and ended with Renault.

Engineers at Renault Moteurs, thedivision of the French automakerwhich sells transmissions and enginesto outside customers, quicklyestablished that their latest two-litreF9Q would fit the new Grand Vitara’sengine bay, even though this meantadapting it for longitudinal – ratherthan transverse – installation andaltering its characteristics to suit allwheel-drive and off-road applications.

By now it was summer 2003 and theclock was already ticking: barely 24months remained before Suzuki’splanned start of production andRenault needed to assemble a team ofexperts capable of delivering achallenging engine programme to avery demanding schedule.

The programme was doublychallenging as the new Grand Vitarawas a relatively heavy vehicle which

and how clear communication wasmaintained throughout.

The physical integration of theengine into the vehicle was handledjointly by Suzuki and Renault, whileRicardo was responsible to Renaultthroughout for the entire enginetuning and calibration process – plussome WAVE simulation and analysiswork on the engine’s intake system,which had to be developed fromscratch for this application. ThusRenault also created a new front endto the exhaust system, a specificturbocharger, and redesigned thediesel’s sump to adapt it for the 4WDsystem as well as the extreme anglesof tilt likely to be encountered in off-road driving.

With the feasibility study havingestablished the viability of the project,contracts were signed in November2003 – giving the team just 19 monthsbefore the scheduled start ofproduction in June 2005.

“It certainly was quite a challenge,”says Ian Penny, global director of dieselengineering at Ricardo. “It was veryshort, and also demanding – because itwas a new vehicle, a new driveline andthe upgrade of the engine, all inparallel. There were so many newthings coming together – new software,a new DPF specification and manysystems that were unique, such as theintake and exhaust systems.”

By December 2003 main-programme engines were up andrunning, beginning six months ofcalibration work aimed at refiningemissions performance andestablishing a calibration strategy forthe DPF.

By March the following year the firstprototype vehicles had arrived fromJapan and on-road testing could beginusing calibrations transferred from theengine dynos and desk top calibration.

Unusually for an all-new vehicle, the

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Grand Vitara technical specification

Engine Renault F9Q turbodieselCapacity 1870 cc

Max power 95 kW @ 3750 rev/minPeak torque 300 Nm @ 2000 rev/min

Transmission 5-speed manual plus transferKerb weight 1495-1550 kg (for 3-door), 1590-1660 kg (for 5-door)

Towing capacity 1600 kg (for 3-door), 2000 kg (for 5-door)Max speed 170 km/h

0-100 km/h acceleration 12.8 sec (for 3-door), 13.2 sec (for 5-door)CO2 emissions,

ECE combined cycle 195 g/km (for 3-door), 205 g/km (for 5-door)

“The DPF regeneration and supervisorcalibration proceeded according to plan andachieved the demanding targets”Bernard Lasnel, Renault Moteurs

availability of prototypes wasexcellent. Up to 20 were madeavailable at various stages, andLasnel, Penny and Mortimer were eachevidently pleased with the way thiseased the progress of the project.

The mission gets tougher

An unexpected slowdown in progressoccurred in May 2004, little more thana month into the developmentprogramme, when Suzuki upgradedthe vehicle’s technical definition anddecided to adopt full-time four wheeldrive across the whole range, in placeof the previous switchable system.

“We now had to cope with moredrag through the 4WD system, as well

as extra mass,” remembers Mortimer.“The three-door model managed tostay in the same inertia category, butthe five-door moved up a class. Thismeant that the road load curve movedup, absorbing more power andimpacting both emissions and fueleconomy.”

Mortimer recalls that thedeterioration in emissionsperformance was of the order of 20per cent – a sizeable deficit to make upon a programme already under timepressure.

All the partners quickly chipped inwith solutions. Suzuki was able totweak the aerodynamics to reduce thedrag of the body; Renault, at Ricardo’srequest, made changes to the enginecontrol strategy to allow moreflexibility in the calibration, andRicardo itself recommended a changeto the final drive ratio, based on V-SIMsimulation work it had carried out.

Ricardo had to make some rapidchanges to the calibration, includingoptimisation around the new controlstrategies implemented by Renault.According to Mortimer, Ricardo’s useof advanced Design of Experiment(DoE) calibration tools was invaluablein the rapid assessment of the impactof the vehicle changes and thesubsequent re-optimisation of theengine calibration for emissions, withminimal impact on combustion noiseand fuel consumption.

These measures, together withmany scores of detailed changes, were


Grand Vitara diesel programme became more

demanding when the vehicle definition was

raised to include full-time 4x4

Programme timeline

April 2003

Renault contacted by Suzuki aspotential engine supplierJune 2003

Ricardo contacted by Renault forpotential feasibility studyJuly 2003

Feasibility study beginsSeptember 2003

Feasibility study findings positiveNovember 2003

Contracts signed; Ricardoresponsible for all emissionscalibration December 2003

First engines running on benchMarch 2004

First prototypes drive on roadMay 2004

Vehicle specification uprated topermanent 4WD. Major impact onemissions necessitates newcalibrationsSeptember 2004

Hot weather altitude testing inSpain and FranceDecember 2004

Cold weather testing, Kiruna,SwedenFebruary 2005

Hot weather altitude validation,ChileMarch 2005

Calibration freezeJune 2005

Start of productionSeptember 2005

European debut of Grand Vitara,Frankfurt auto showAutumn 2005

Grand Vitara on sale across Europe

enough to bring the engine’semissions and performance backinside the required parameters; now,the detailed and painstaking task offinal engine calibration and durabilitytesting could begin.

Two summers in six months

The compressed programmetimescale and the minor, butsignificant, delay resulting from thechange in the vehicle’s technicaldefinition meant that the durabilityand extreme climate testing scheduleshad to be run back to back. Thus it wasthat while ten engines were runningflat out in test cells, others wereundergoing transient emissions testson chassis dynos and four vehicles


were amassing over 450,000 km inintensive city, mountain, circuit andmotorway testing.

“Our first summer testing was inSpain in September 2004,” recallsLasnel. “During this mission wechecked all the underhood componenttemperatures, we checked the coolingwas sufficient, and Ricardo calibratedthe smoke level and also theturbocharger speed – there’s alwaysthe risk of turbocharger overspeed ataltitude.”

During this mission an unusualcapability of the diesel versionemerged: it was able to tow a similarcar for 30 km all the way to the top ofthe Sierra Nevada in 30-degree heat.“We didn’t have any problems at all,”says Lasnel. “It’s very robust.”

From then it was off to arctic-circleKiruna in Sweden for cold-climatetests, with only a short break beforethe resumption of final hot-weatheraltitude validation work in Chile.

“Because we’d had to re-engineersome parts of the vehicle calibrationbecause of the specification change,we hadn’t been able to do all the hotaltitude testing in the northernhemisphere,” says Penny. “That’s whywe had to add in Chile to achieve theprogramme timing.”

With temperature of 35 degrees at2000 metres, Chile provides a toughdriving environment. DPFregeneration at altitude can presentparticular problems because of the

lack of oxygen, but the test teamoperated it at well above the validated2500 metre altitude required for theEuropean market with no difficulty;the team is due shortly to return to thesame area to test further derivatives.

Quality was a major considerationfor the development programme andextensive validation testing wascarried out on the vehicles.Throughout, the emissions weremeasured at different mileage points.“We were very satisfied with theemissions, even at 100,000 km,” saysLasnel, adding that particularemphasis was also placed onvalidating the DPF system in intensivecity driving, where DPF regenerationcan be an issue.

The final phase in the testingprogramme was certification testingon the bench with representativehardware from production tooling.This incorporated engine power andsmoke cycles on the test bench andemissions, diagnostics and DPFregeneration on the chassis dyno. Thecertification in March 2005 was the laststep before production go-ahead wasgiven in April.

Programme management

All involved agree that the new GrandVitara was a very clean launch overall,and that much of the credit for thismust go to the exceptionally goodmanagement of this complex, multi-partner programme.

While Renault retained overallcharge of the programme and handledalmost all communication with Suzuki,all the partners were able tocommunicate through a secure webspace set up using the RInc Ex system,developed by Ricardo. This allowedeveryone involved to flag up problemsand to keep track of updates generatedby other partners.

When it came to engineeringgateways and the formal sign-offs atspecified points in the programme, allpartners would meet together to agreethe decisions.

“Our customer was always Renault,”says Phil Mortimer. “Ourcommunication with them wasfrequent and effective, and we hadmeetings every three or four weeksthroughout the programme.”

Suzuki, the final customer, was alsoimpressed by the smooth running ofthe programme, especially theatmosphere of trust which built up.“The keys to success of thisprogramme were programmemanagement, leadership and the

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Ian Penny of Ricardo and Bernard Lasnel of

Renault Moteurs after the successful

completion of the Grand Vitara programme

“The keys to success... were programmemanagement, leadership and the mutualtrust relationship” Koji Yamada, Suzuki


mutual trust relationship,” said KojiYamada, SUV vehicle line executive.

“We respected the differences ofeach development process, and wereable to take advantage of each other’smanagement process. Once we faceda critical situation, each party providedstrong leadership to overcome thedifficulties according to each[partner’s] responsibility. As a result,our mutual trust relationship becamefurther strengthened.”

Summarising the project, BernardLasnel from Renault stressesadherence to a challenging timescaleas a particular achievement: “We keptto the schedule as it was established atthe beginning, and with a good levelof quality in the engineering and thetuning produced by Ricardo. And wekept within the budget, which wasimportant for our final customer,Suzuki, and for us to continue withthem in the future with otherapplications.

“It’s important to have a good levelof confidence between partners; it isimportant to be supported by Ricardo,and I think Suzuki is also interested inthe possibility of working with Ricardoto develop some functions in thevehicle in the future. Our philosophy isto be very close to our customer, tosupport them, and to involve oursupplier, like Ricardo.”

Next steps

With the new generation Grand Vitarasuccessfully launched on theEuropean markets in gasoline anddiesel forms, and in both the US andJapan as a gasoline-only model,

Suzuki is naturally beginning to lookforward to further developments.

As we close for press, a squad oftest vehicles is scaling the 4000-metrepeaks of the Chilean Andes to finalisehot-weather calibration settings for thediesel versions to be sold in LatinAmerica; Suzuki is currently studyingthe introduction of the diesel editioninto other non-European territories.

On an engineering level, says Suzuki,the next steps are to commencetechnical development with a view toreaching future Euro-5 emissionslevels, and also to make continuousimprovements in NVH performance.Also under consideration is a versionwith automatic transmission, and athree-door edition built on the shorterwheelbase has been developed forcertain markets.

“The success of this operation washelped by the very precise scope ofsupply and responsibility split of partsand assembly, says Renault’s Lasnel.“We’re responsible for the assemblyprocess, even at Suzuki in Japan. Weaudit the company and check thecapability in order to make sure theproduct will be reliable and good forthe final customers.”

But for Ian Penny, global director ofdiesel engineering at Ricardo, the newGrand Vitara has been much morethan a simple emissions calibrationprogramme. “This has been a veryrobust and complete calibration sign-off for a compact SUV covering allpossible aspects of vehicle usage – thenew Grand Vitara is as well suited tothe pure city environment as it is torough terrain or high altitude work.”

Renault’s 1.9 litre diesel had to be adapted for longitudinal

installation in the Grand Vitara, as well as for off-road use

• Started, like Toyota, as loom manufacturer in 1920s

• 1955: launched Suzulight micro car

• 1962: First Isle of Man TT win,in 50 cc class

• 1970: Launched Jimny lightweight SUV

• 1979: Alto small car

• 1983: Partnership in India with Maruti to built Alto

• 1988: First Vitara leisure SUV

• 1989: First production in Canada

• 1993: Hungarian plant opened

• 1997: Second generation Grand Vitara

• 1998: Alliance with GM

• 2001: Builds minicars for Nissan

• 2002: Cumulative total of

30 million cars sold

• 2004: European-design Swift small car

• 2005:Third-generation Grand Vitara

• World’s 12th-biggest automaker

• Built about 1.9 million cars in 2004

• Built about 2.3 millionmotorcycles in 2004

• Powertrain business development unit of Renault

• Sells to other automakers

• Engines from 1.0 to 3.5 litres

• Manual, automatic and AMT transmissions

• Fully responsible for engine and transmission integration into client vehicles

• Network of engineering partners,including Ricardo

• 2004 sales: 340,000 gearboxes,240,000 engines

• Previous programmes include 1.5 litre K9K diesel in Suzuki Jimny

• Other programmes with GM trucks,Volvo, Mitsubishi, Proton

RENAULTMOTEURS

SUZUKI


Future diesel strategy

“New dash to diesels” proclaimedthe headline splashed across

the front page of the influential USindustry journal Automotive News asit reported the 2006 Detroit auto show.Diesels are back, the paper asserted,with high tech engines set to take onhybrids in the fuel economy race.

Citing at least five major automakersannouncing plans to bring dieselvehicles to the North American market,the paper said that all vehicle producerswere at least looking at the possibility ofadding diesels to their ranges.

This is a dramatic turnaround for theworld’s largest car market, wherememories linger long and where adisastrous flirtation with hastily-developed diesels in the wake of theearly-80s fuel crisis has left anundercurrent of suspicion and prejudiceagainst diesel power. Since the 1980s, infact, only Volkswagen and, lessconsistently, Mercedes-Benz havecontinued to offer diesels in the US.

Yet it is not the world’s supremelyskilful diesel engineers who can claimcredit for the change in mind-set, butthe unavoidable economic truth of fuelprices. With the cost of gasoline morethan doubling (albeit from a low base)in the space of two years, Americanconsumers have at last begun to think

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strict on two of the diesel’s problempollutants – particulate matter (PM)and NOx – and the recent Tier 2standards have raised the bar stillhigher. Undaunted, Europeanautomakers pressed ahead withsolutions, only to find themselvesfrustrated by something completelyout of their control – the high levels ofsulphur in US diesel fuel.

But now, with the North American oilindustry committed to reducingsulphur to acceptable levels by the endof this year, the door to diesel wouldappear to have been kicked wide open.

Americans don’t want to give uptheir large SUVs: diesel power offersthem the chance to maintain this

lifestyle, but at substantially lowercash and environmental cost; theruggedness and strong torque ofdiesel engines are powerful attractionstoo. And on the broader political level,the significance of the USadministration’s apparent awakeningto at least some of the implications ofthe global warming debate is not to beunderestimated.

This is a once in a lifetime chancefor diesel to catch on in NorthAmerica, and thus a chance for thediesel engine to become a globalpowerplant rather than somethingwith a merely regional Europeanfocus. This, in turn, could dramaticallyboost the business case fordeveloping new diesel designs.

NOx is the big hurdle

So much for the new-found economicsof diesel power. The technological caseis, if anything, even more complexand revolves principally around thenew Tier 2 (and in California LEV 2)emissions limits that are justbeginning to bite. It is these rules thathave changed the game and swungthe world’s diesel focus away fromEurope and firmly onto the US.

“Tier 2 Bin 5 is the 50-state standardthat we need to achieve,” says Ian

about fuel consumption. The impact onthe market has been profound, withlarge, V8-powered SUVs suddenlyfalling out of fashion and gasoline-electric hybrids – once the preserve ofimage-conscious celebrities – equallysuddenly thrust into the sales spotlight.This shift caught the US majorsunawares and hit them hard.

Diesel’s big opportunity

The success of hybrids such as theToyota Prius, Lexus RX400h and FordEscape showed that consumers wereprepared to pay a premium for fueleconomy. Surely, reasoned industrystrategists, those same consumerswould be willing to pay extra fordiesel, with its proven capability ofimproving consumption by 25-30 percent? In addition, diesels would besimpler to install than hybridpowertrains, the premium would belower, and, most vitally, the fueleconomy gains would be consistentrather than disappointing – the mostfrequent complaint about hybrids in aJD Power survey.

However, it is more than the inertiaof the US automotive establishmentthat has prevented manufacturersseizing this opportunity. Federalemissions legislation is particularly

Powerful, economical and refined, advanced dieselengines are now clean enough to meet the strictestfuture emissions requirements. Nowhere is this moreimportant than in North America, where diesels arepoised for a big breakthrough. Tony Lewin reports onthe new wave of diesel innovation that promises todeliver major fuel savings and near-zero emissions


Minimising raw NOx emissions

The first step towards minimisingengine-out NOx is to eliminate thehigh gas temperatures that give rise toit. A trend towards lower compressionratios and higher rates of EGR(exhaust gas recirculation) is alreadywell established. Strategic use ofboosting can help, too.

The good news here is that diesel isat last about to obtain its own versionof electronic closed-loop feedbackcontrol, which enabled gasolineengines to make such huge strides inthe 1970s and 1980s. Now, diesels willbe able to control themselvesintelligently thanks to glow plugswhich sense the real-time pressure ineach cylinder and relay theinformation back to the ECU, which isthen able to prescribe the optimuminjection, boost and possibly evenvalve operation strategy.

Put simply, closed loop control willenable engineers to control thecombustion process itself – somethingthat until now has always had to beleft to fixed, pre-programmedparameters. Stroke by stroke, thediesel will be running at the very peakof its efficiency.

“This tool is an important enabler,”observes Penny. “It’s relativelyexpensive, but it does give us an extra

Selective Catalytic Reduction fluid delivery

system from Mercedes-Benz will enable

compliance with 2007 US NOx regulations

USA-bound: diesel versions of (from left to

right) Mercedes-Benz GL,Volkswagen Jetta

and, possibly Jeep Grand Cherokee

Penny, director of diesel engineeringat Ricardo. “It’s a whole order ofmagnitude tougher than Euro 5 – infact, it will probably set us up for Euro6, which is almost ten years away.”

Federal and California emissionsstandards are fuel neutral: what makesBin 5 such a challenge for diesels isthe 0.07 grams per mile fleet averageit imposes for NOx emissions, to bemaintained over 120,000 miles(193,000 km). The most likely Euro 5equivalent is a generous-looking 0.2g/km ( approx 0.32g/mile), roughly fivetimes as lenient as the US standard.

With US consumers already havingshown themselves open to fuel-efficient vehicles, all that wouldappear to stand between theautomakers and the exploitation of ahuge and eager market is thesignificant hurdle of 0.07 g/mile NOx.And while the impending availabilityof low sulphur diesel will provide asignificant enabler, the scale of thechallenge of meeting Bin 5, nowpreoccupying diesel engineers theworld over, cannot be underestimated.

Ricardo is devoting significantresources to the development of dieselengines capable of meeting Bin 5standards and is actively involved inprogrammes with a number of leadingvehicle makers. But it’s far from alone.At last September’s Frankfurt autoshow DaimlerChrysler announced amajor diesel initiative for the US, with asuite of advanced technologies underthe general label of Bluetec powering arange of five different models. BMW,too, has said it will launch within threeyears. Honda, another engineeringpowerhouse, has said that it expects tosell more diesel cars in the US than inEurope, and is embarking on thedevelopment of a new generation ofdiesel engines. At present, it has only asingle diesel in its range.

“There are a lot challenges,” saysRicardo’s Ian Penny. “But that also meansthere are a lot of opportunities, too.”

Facing the challenge

Those in the auto business with longermemories have already been struck bythe similarity between the positiondiesel is now in, and situation gasolinetechnology found itself in during thelate 1960s. Confronted with thelooming spectre of emissionsregulations of daunting severity,gasoline engineers did not know whichway to turn to cut the output ofpollutants: they tried a whole raft oftechnologies, including air pumps,secondary air injection, double ignitionand exhaust gas recirculation, often incomplex combinations, before settlingon the three-way catalyst and lambdasensor as the optimum solution.

Faced with the imminent threat ofTier 2 Bin 5, today’s diesel engineers arevastly better prepared and haveenormous resources at their disposal.Yet, says Ian Penny, they too have abewildering array of levers to pull andcan be forgiven for not yet being certainwhich particular technology will be theone that eventually wins out. Speakingabout the industry in general, he says:“everyone’s on a steep learning curve inthe run-up to a big emissions standard.Things will simplify themselves laterwhen it becomes clear what the bestsolutions are, and we’ll begin to see ageneral convergence.”

Nevertheless, insists Penny, there isalready a strong measure ofconsensus on what needs to happenwithin the engine, especially in termsof combustion and boosting. Here, thefocus has turned firmly to that ofminimising raw engine-out emissions,especially those of NOx. This is aconcept termed ACTION (AdvancedCombustion To Improve engine-OutNOx) by Ricardo’s diesel engineers,and is intended to give the lowest totalsystem cost through integration ofcost effective aftertreatment as well asproviding a platform for existing andfuture standards below Tier 2 Bin 5.And it is in the area of aftertreatment,where the components are frequentlybulky, fragile and with an expensivelyelevated precious metal content, thatmost of today’s debate resides.

dimension of control and the potentialto achieve very low emissionsconsistently over life in high volumeproduction.” The steady rise inavailable injection pressures isbringing benefits, too. Already, Boschhas announced common-rail systemsdeveloping over 2000 bar: just a fewyears ago, 1300 bar was consideredimpressive. The importance of ever-higher pressure is shown by Bosch’sestimate that the jump from 1600 to2500 bar would, alone, result in a 20per cent reduction in the formation ofNOx and PM within the cylinder.

The advent of piezo-electric injectorsis giving engine designers unheard offreedoms when it comes to decidingthe number of injection pulses as wellas the size and timing of those pulses.Ricardo engineers have shown thatthrough the optimisation ofcombustion system design and in-cylinder conditions such as oxygenconcentration and air/fuel mixing,major cuts in NOx formation can beachieved. The first stage of technologyhas delivered NOx reductions of over60 per cent without the need for highlyexpensive and risky solutions such asearly injection, variable valvetrain orvariable geometry turbochargertechnology. These further technologiesoffer additional gains, but theeconomics become less favourable.

Future diesel strategy

storage catalyst, also known as theLean NOx Trap (LNT), has beenconsidered to be a leading contender,especially in North America.

Currently gaining favour, however, isurea-based Selective CatalyticReduction, or SCR. This process,favoured notably by Mercedes-Benzfor both passenger cars and heavyduty vehicles is a continuous one andrequires no periodic regeneration.

“There are a lot of people beginningto push SCR quite hard now,” revealsIan Penny. “Mercedes is going for it in2008, and it’s perhaps benefiting fromuncertainty about fuel quality andfears about the effect widespread LNTuse could have on the price ofprecious metals.”

In general, Ricardo is progressingboth LNT and SCR solutions withclients, depending on region.“Technology maturity and legislatorpositions are not fully established andthis is forcing our clients to covermany bases,” explains Ian Penny.

Heavy duty diesel

A notable feature of recentdevelopments is the gradualconvergence not just of HDD standardsand solutions across continents, but alsoa hint of common thinking between theHD and light duty (LD) sectors.

Awareness of CO2 emissions hasspread in the LD sector from Europe andJapan to North America; in the HDsector it has to some extent been self-regulating as cost-conscious operatorshave sought to minimise fuelling costs.In Japan, however, HDD manufacturershave to adhere to an aggressiveconsumption-reduction timetabletargeted at boosting economy by 12 percent between 2002 and 2015.

Currently, HD diesel manufacturershave adopted alternative approaches

In this respect research engines aretending towards the characteristics ofthe still-experimental HCCI – forHomogeneous Charge CompressionIgnition – where mixtures are leanerand, of course, homogeneous. Thisconcept promises the potential forNOx levels 80 to 90 per cent lowerthan at present. Many OEMs and Tier1s are working intensively on HCCIand Ricardo expects to see its variouselements, such as lower compression,intensified cooled EGR andsophisticated air charging, introducedone by one onto production dieselengines.

Aftertreatment – ideas still differ

The US standards, Euro 5 and the newJapanese regulations make one thingclear: almost every diesel vehicle willhave to be fitted with a particulatefilter (DPF) to ensure PM emissionsbelow 0.005 g/km. This technology iswell established and sufficientlyeffective that it’s no longer part of thedebate. But apart from DPFs there islittle consensus when it comes todealing with the other pollutants in thegases emerging from the engine –especially the all-important NOx.

Two main systems are in the frame –see panel below – and each has itsbackers and its critics. Until recently,for light duty vehicles, the NOx


Euro 5 and US Tier 2 emissions standards

Euro V (proposed) g/km US Federal Tier 2, light vehicles, full useful life, all fuels, g/km

Gasoline diesel Bin 1 Bin 2 Bin 3 Bin 4 Bin 5 Bin 6 Bin 7

NOx 0.060 0.200 0.000 0.012 0.019 0.025 0.044 0.062 0.093

PM 0.005 0.005 0.000 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.006 0.012

CO 1.000 0.500 0.000 1.305 1.305 1.305 2.610 2.610 2.610

Sources: Ricardo EMLEG database; Euro 5 limits provisional. US figures converted from official g/mile valuesUnder Tier 2 Federal US regulations, automakers must attain a fleet average equivalent to Bin 5 by 2007. This can be achieved by selling more vehicles in lower Bins to balance sales of higher-emission models. Tier 1 is zero emissions.

Aftertreatment system for the new Mercedes

GL 320 SUV – one of the first diesel vehicles to

meet US Tier 2 Bin 5 requirements

interim objective of the programmewill be to achieve Tier 2 Bin 5 emissionlevels at the engine-out stage, with noNOx aftertreatment whatsoever.Further advances can be anticipated inthe area of aftertreatment, too: thepartners in the programme areworking on a NOx-reduction systemwhich eliminates the need for periodicservicing.

“Ultimately,” says Ian Penny, “our goalis to get to fuel-based selective catalyticreduction – where the hydrocarbon fromthe fuel is used as the reactant instead ofammonia from urea.”

Prospects

Both Andrew Skipton-Carter and IanPenny are confident that Ricardo, forone, has technologies andcountermeasures that will enablecompliance with the toughest futureemissions regulations. The main focusnow is to ensure these solutions arecost effective: here the policy ofminimising engine-out emissions willmean less burden being placed onaftertreatment systems, traditionallyone of the costliest, most troublesomeand hard-to-package elements.

Adaptive engine management willplay an increasingly important role,too, not only in controllingcombustion mechanisms but also inensuring the self-regulation of thosesystems throughout the lifespan of thevehicle.

And it will be a proud momentindeed for the diesel when this once-dismissed engine takes its place in theline-up of leading super ultra lowemissions technologies on tomorrow’ssqueaky-clean streets.


globally, with EGR being the keyapproach in US and Japan, but withSCR being the ascending technology.“The majority of European heavy truckmakers are launching their Euro IVtrucks with SCR in time for the October2006 deadline,” explains AndrewSkipton-Carter, project director forheavy-duty engines at Ricardo. “Inaddition, most will be offering Euro Vversions of the same trucks withrecalibrated SCR systems. AlthoughSCR is an exhaust aftertreatment systemit has demonstrated good durability andhas possibly the best NOx conversionpotential.”

DaimlerChrysler has already soldseveral thousand heavy trucks in theEuropean market equipped with SCR.

Towards zero emissions

It is hard to imagine the diesel engine,once derided as noisy, smoky,sluggish and suitable only for taxis,tractors and trucks, as a near-zeroemissions powerplant. But this isprecisely what Ricardo is working onright now.

In collaboration with a major playerin the global auto industry, Ricardohas embarked on an ambitiousprogramme to develop anddemonstrate a diesel engine capableof achieving US SULEV / Tier 2 Bin 2 –the most stringent exhaust emissionstandard ever devised, and just onenotch above zero-emissions level. Themaximum permitted NOx output of0.02 g/mile makes it sixteen timestighter than the value for Euro 5.

So ambitious is this target that anRicardo advanced diesel roadmap shows

likely evolution of technologies to 2020

Competing De-NOxtechnologies: how they work

NOx storage catalyst (LNT)

When the engine is operating withnormal lean exhaust gas, NOx isstored as nitrates on the catalyst. Atappropriate intervals the storedNOx must be regenerated bysupplying a spike of rich exhaustgas. This rich exhaust gas firstlyreleases the NOx prior to reductionto nitrogen. This can be achieved byeither changing the engineconditions or by injecting additionalfuel using an exhaust injector.Thankfully, only a very short richevent lasting a couple of seconds isneeded every 30 to 60 secondsdepending on the engine andaftertreatment conditions. Unfortunately the process is verydifficult to control as exactly theright amount of rich species mustbe supplied – and this depends onthe NOx level, temperature andcatalyst condition. All thiscomplexity leads to majorchallenges. As well as thecalibration headache, some keyconcerns such as oil dilution,catalyst durability and highprecious metal content must beaddressed.

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)

A metered feed of urea, a fluidcontaining the reductant NH3, isadded as the vehicle drives, and thereaction in the exhaust system iseffective in reducing the exhaustgases’ NOx content as it passesthrough. Against SCR’s positives oflower cost and improved durabilitymust be set the complexity of theadditional fluid delivery system andthe need to top up the fluid in service.

It is important to note that SCR isnot about simply bolting on a minichemical plant: there are alsosignificant challenges. Ricardoprogrammes are showing thatthermal management, DPFregeneration interaction, strategyfor NH3 slip control, OBD and userinterface strategy are criticalelements in both light and heavyduty applications. Programmeshave shown that by integrating theRicardo ACTION approach, NOx canbe controlled sufficiently to enablethe urea to be re-filled at thevehicle’s regular service interval.

the design and production of fourphases of common rail direct injectiondiesel engines, each addressingdifferent market segments but allsharing common characteristics ofoutstanding fuel economy, excellentrefinement, clean combustion andoutstanding performance. The generalarchitecture and base engine design ofeach phase are the responsibility ofeither Ford or PSA, and the productionis shared with the other partner acrossthe companies’ combined productranges within each engine family’starget market segment. This co-operation agreement operates inparallel with the on-goingdevelopment of in-house Ford diesels,whose origins pre-date the agreementor which do not come within the scopeof the agreement but nonethelessform part of the Ford and PremierAutomotive Group (Jaguar, LandRover, Volvo, Aston Martin) productportfolios.

Making a new start

Towards the end of the 1990s it wasclear to Ford that a new emphasiswould be needed in dieselengineering. The increasing demandfor diesels in Europe was alreadybecoming apparent and the companyneeded both to develop new enginearchitectures and to continueimproving the performance,refinement and emissionsconformance of its existing engineplatforms.

This time of re-evaluation coincidedwith the appointment of Phil Lake asthe chief engineer of dieselengineering for Ford of Europe.

Much has changed at FordMotor Company’s Dagenhamfacility over the past decade.

Although vehicle assembly has longdeparted this sprawling complex onthe eastern fringes of London, there issomething of an industrial renaissanceunderway. In the midst of all thisregeneration, perhaps the mostimpressive centrepiece is the FordDagenham Diesel Centre, opened in2003 amid a fanfare of publicity byPrime Minister Tony Blair.

But Ford’s focus on diesel is farmore than a public relations exercise.The strategic investment made by thecompany in diesel technology hasbeen reflected in its European salesfigures: between 2000 and 2004,Ford’s European diesel sales volumegrew year on year by a cumulativetotal of over 66 per cent to exceed788,000 units. Over the same periodthe diesel proportion of its sales rosefrom 30 per cent to 48 per cent: thecompany now has a significantposition in all major EU markets,including second in diesel sales inItaly, and almost equalling the volumeof market leader VW in the UK.

This success has been based on asolid foundation of new productsincluding the 1.4/1.6 family, 2.0 and 2.2litre passenger car engines, dedicatedLCV engines and the Premium V6.These engines are developed in-houseby Ford and also together with PSAPeugeot Citroën, with whom Ford hasa highly successful co-operationagreement for the development andproduction of light, efficient and cleandiesel engines. Under this agreement,the two partners have already shared


Faced with unprecedented increase indemand for its advanced diesel engines,Ford Motor Company set aboutdeveloping a highly innovativeoutsourcing model aimed at providing anoptimal mix of complementarytechnology and resource whileguaranteeing best value. Anthony Smith

talks to Ford’s diesel engineering teamabout the success of this approach

Ford strategic outsourcing

OPTIMISEDOUTSOURCINGA career Ford man then in his earlyforties, Lake had spent his entireworking life in a variety of engineeringand powertrain roles, includingperiods in Valencia and Detroit. Havingreturned to the UK in 1997, he hadalready occupied a number of seniorpositions in diesel engineering beforetaking on its most senior role in 2000.

“It was clear that the Europeanmarket for diesels was expandingrapidly,” explains Lake. “We realisedthat our product development needswould require capacity beyond thatavailable from within the Fordorganisation.”

The company accepted that someinternal growth and specialist skillsdevelopment would be needed, butthe question was how far the businessshould be grown organically and howmuch it should rely upon externalsuppliers. There was a practical limiton the capacity to grow internally – sothe fundamental question was howthe additional resource would bedeployed strategically across thecompany’s product programmes.

“The most obvious approach,”continues Lake, “would have been tospread the work around a multitude ofvendors at a discrete task level,something that we had frequentlydone in the past. This method ensuresthat you get lowest price as you arecontinually testing the market, but itdoes not necessarily assure best valueas it does not enable a close workingrelationship of trust to be built up.”

Value as distinct from price is animportant consideration for a leadingglobal player like Ford, where theability to deliver a programme early to


Ford’s Dagenham Diesel Centre (left) and

the new Transit powered by the latest Duratorq

engine (below)

market, to excel in product attributessuch as performance, durability andquality, or to engineer products forminimum manufacturing cost candeliver benefits which are bothsignificant and enduring.

While there are many suppliers ofengineering services in Europe, it wasunderstandable that Ford would atleast want to explore the option ofdeveloping such a relationship withRicardo. “Looking at the market it isclear that Ford is the biggest enginedeveloper and manufacturer in theUK, while Ricardo is the largest engineconsultant in the UK,” says Lake. “Ifirmly believe that working in a single,geographically close environmentprovides the potential for a relativelyefficient outsourcing relationship.”

But while the fundamental potentialwas clearly apparent, it was essentialthat the detail of any such outsourcingrelationship would be designed tomeet the specific product and

organisational needs of Ford. Therewould be absolutely no prospect of acosy, sole-supplier arrangement; anyout-sourcing would need to have atransparent mechanism for thedemonstration of all aspects of bestvalue, including technology, specificexpertise and programme delivery, aswell as price.

Root and branch dialogue

Lake’s appointment to the most seniordiesel engineering role at Fordparalleled that of his counterpart atRicardo, Ian Penny, who was appointedas director of diesel engineering ataround the same time. The two initiateda root and branch dialogue involvingkey representatives of each company’ssenior technical management and theirrespective purchasing and commercialteams. The challenge set out was todefine an outsourcing relationshipwhich, while ensuring rigorousstandards of best-value testing, wouldenable Ricardo to operate as anintegral supporting part of Ford’s dieselengineering organisation focused onprogramme delivery.

Ricardo was given three strict over-arching criteria which had to be metboth over time and across allprogramme engagements. Firstly, inorder to qualify for and to maintain itsposition as engineering partner,Ricardo would have to maintain aglobally competitive core expertise inpowertrain and diesel technology andproduct engineering. In this context,Lake cites the example of the highlycomplex area of diesel cylinder headdesign and predictive analysis as onesuch area in which Ricardo has a lot ofexperience. Secondly, as a supplier,Ricardo must be able to acceptprojects on a specified deliverablesbasis and complete them both to timeand to the agreed objectives within anagreed, fixed budget. Finally, it wouldhave to continually demonstrate bestvalue both through a transparentmatrix of pre-agreed chargesreflecting the true costs of differenttypes of activity, and through frequentcompetitive tender on individualprogrammes.

As Ian Penny explains, a lengthyconfidence-building process was


required to achieve this: “We spentlong periods with the commercialteam, for example, examining the costof different types of work, includingfor example whether Ricardo or FordIT infrastructure, test facilities andback-up services would be used. Moreimportantly than this, we investedconsiderable efforts on both sides toidentify the mechanisms by which thetwo companies’ engineeringcapabilities could work seamlesslytogether across functions rangingfrom base engine design and CAE tovehicle calibration. In this way thesupport provided by Ricardo at alllevels could be delivered in the mostefficient as well as effective and value-adding manner. ”A particular exampleof an aspect in which process levelimprovements were delivered byRicardo through this close relationshipis cited by Penny as being in theautomated test-bed based calibrationtechnology developed by the companywhich can provide significant time andcost benefits in streamlining thisaspect of powertrain development.

With the methodology of programmedelivery using support from Ricardowell defined, it was equally vital toprovide on-going reassurance of thecompany’s commitment to continuedeveloping its core expertise in dieseltechnology. “We invest considerablesums in our diesel research activities,assessing the potential technologies ofthe next decade as well as those forcurrent model year programmes,”explains Penny, ”and we try to provideregular feedback to our largercustomers such as Ford so that we canjointly discuss and share opinionsregarding the technical strategicoptions of the future.”

Programme level focus

With the commercial framework of thecollaboration established, Ford thenneeded to decide upon the mostappropriate means by which it couldbring Ricardo support into play in itsproduct development programmes.Following internal discussion it wasdecided that this could be clusteredat two levels. In order to providemaximum advantage to Ford itwas decided to focus the majorityof Ricardo support on a singleengine architecture: theDuratorq engine used indifferent forms in theMondeo, Jaguar X-Type andthe Transit commercial vehicle.

This was an architecture withwhich Ricardo was already veryfamiliar and had considerable priorexperience. Ricardo was asked toprovide significant resource to anumber of major Duratorqprogrammes, operating within theframework of the Ford productdevelopment organisation andsystems. This support was to beprovided on a defined deliverablesbasis, allowing both companies toshare elements of risk and reward. TheRicardo project teams would be fullyintegrated with and operate as a partof the Ford product developmentorganisation, working both at Fordlocations and in a dedicated projectfacility at Ricardo, with secure IT linksoperating as an extension of Ford’sown in-house systems.

Allocating significant externalsupport to Duratorq programmesenabled Ford to focus far more of itsavailable internal resource on thedevelopment of its new Vengine. “It’snot often that an OEM develops a

Ford strategic outsourcing

The Euro IVMondeoLaunched at the Frankfurt motorshow in 2003, Mondeo was the firstFord diesel model to be certified toEuro IV emissions. Its Duratorqengine was redesigned with acompletely new FIE andcombustion system. The Euro IVMondeo diesel was widely praisedin the media for its performanceand refinement.

Ricardo support to thisprogramme includes a large teamof engineers working alongsideFord under the leadership of thenchief engineer for the Mondeodiesel, Andrew Fraser, at bothDagenham and Dunton, as well asat a dedicated project office atRicardo. In addition to beingdelivered to a compressedschedule, the programme achievedstretch targets for power andtorque, and careful engineering ofthe EGR system resulted in a unitcost reduction.

More recently a team fromRicardo has been working underthe leadership of Bill Carnochan,responsible for the calibration of allFord-branded diesel vehicles, onthe 2006 Mondeo variant fitted witha new coated diesel particulate filtersystem (C-DPF). While the existingproduct already meets Euro IVemissions, the new C-DPF systemprovides a highly attractiveadditive- and maintenance-freesolution for those markets wherefitment of a DPF is an emergingcustomer expectation.

137 PS Puma upgradefor Transit The second generation, common-rail, VGT 2.4 Duratorq announced inearly 2004 was the most powerfulengine yet to appear in the FordTransit. Ricardo involvement in thisprogramme was significant, with ateam of engineers working underthe leadership of Mark Eden, Fordchief engineer for the Duratorqengine. The Ricardo team supportedmany aspects of the programmefrom base engine design to vehiclecalibration, using a similarinfrastructure of project offices andon-site engineering staff to that forthe Mondeo programme. The 137PS Duratorq remains the flagshipTransit powertrain configurationand offers unparalleledperformance and refinement.


completely new engine architecture,”explains Lake, “so this one was veryimportant for us. It was a premiumengine line in which it was importantto us to demonstrate a top-to-bottomdesign and development capabilityfrom scratch.”

In addition to its programme-levelresponsibilities, Ricardo is also calledupon to provide specific expertassistance to in-house programmes.This form of support can range fromspecific aspects of specialist testingand analysis work such as NVHrefinement and CAE studies, throughto the provision of support in aspectsof the vehicle calibration of the Forddiesel engines. Lake identifies aparticular advantage of the use ofexternal support, even on such an ad-hoc basis, as being the ability to drawin additional resource depending onprogramme needs: “We need oursupplier partners to be able to bringadditional expert assistance to aprogramme at short notice when theneed arises.”

On-going product development

While the majority of the resourceprovided by Ricardo to Ford’s dieselengineering activity has related to the

development of new models,there are two further areas inwhich the company providesexpertise to augment the in-house team’s on-goingengineering efforts. The first

is in the area of warrantymanagement, where a team of

Ricardo engineers supports theinvestigation of field data inorder to analyse reported in-

service concerns and root causes,advising on potential corrective

action as appropriate. The second is in a process which

Ford calls Team Value Management,whereby existing product designsare evaluated in a systematicmanner in order to investigate areas

where product value can beenhanced. This team works withcomponent suppliers of all parts in

production to achieve this, forexample through changes to thedesign or manufacturing process, or

perhaps considering the re-sourcing ofmanufacturing to a lower-costenvironment. In addition to releasingmembers of Lake’s in-house team foron-going programmes, he cites theparticular skills of the Ricardoengineers as being well suited to theseinvestigative and diagnostic functions.

Lessons learned

It was inevitable that some lessonswould be learned in the early stages,and Lake in particular cites the need toeducate elements of the componentand system supply chain. Somesuppliers were initially instinctivelymore responsive to input from theirOEM customer than to that of itsengineering partner, but by adaptingthe process and by providing some ofFord’s own experience in themanagement of large programmes,such problems were rapidlyeliminated.

Perhaps the most important test ofthe relationship with Ricardo however,has been in the track record of newFord products developed with thecompany’s support. This highlyoptimised outsourcing relationshiphas helped to deliver products whichhave both attracted many plauditsfrom the motoring press and beenhighly successful in the market.Following this success in the productsof Ford and its sister PAG brands, itspositive impact will soon extendthrough the new 2.2 litre dedicatedcommercial vehicle engine into both anew generation Transit and the brandsof PSA and its partners.

Duratorq upgradeA new version of the Duratorqengine was announced in October2005 and is the first engine withinthe co-operation agreementbetween Ford and PSA PeugeotCitroën to be optimised for lightcommercial vehicle applications.

A continuation of the work of theteam responsible to Mark Eden, thisnew engine is a further example ofthe positive outcome of the closeinvolvement and support providedby Ricardo. The new engine is aradical development of the previousDuratorq architecture and isdesigned specifically to deliverattributes of value to light truckapplications, offering a uniquesolution in terms of durability,performance, refinement andreliability. The fixed geometryturbocharger of the entry-levelversions offers a highly cost-competitive solution for many fleetoperators, while the variable-geometry alternative offers greatertorque at lower speeds and enablesthe turbo to adapt to the needs ofthe driver. This is achieved by theelectronic control of the vaneangles of the turbocharger,enabling more accurate control ofboost pressure over a wideroperating range. Extensiveoptimisation of the block structureusing CAE methods achieved aweight saving of 15 per centcompared with the previous design.

The Premium V6

Assistance provided by Ricardo toSteve Gill, Ford chief engineer forthis premium product was focusedon support to specific technicalteams including control strategy,mechanical and thermal analysis,CFD and NVH development.

The new 2.2 litre Duratorq commercial

vehicle engine (above).V6 diesels on the

Dagenham assembly line (below right).

The Mondeo (below left) was the first Ford

diesel model certified to Euro 5


conventionalgasoline engines.Equally importantfrom theperspective ofcustomeracceptability,however, theconcept offers thepotential of highlyattractive drivingcharacteristics,with class leadingtorque delivery.

The 2/4SIGHTconsortium includes Ricardo, DENSO,Ma 2T4, the University of Brightonand Brunel University, with thesupport of a number of automotivemanufacturers. Following detailedsystem simulation which confirmedthe potential for the engine, theproject team has recently producedthe detailed design of a proof ofconcept prototype engine which willbe constructed and tested in mid 2006.This £1.9m stage of the project is partfunded by the UK Department of Tradeand Industry under its TechnologyProgramme, with the partnerscontributing the balancing cost of theproject. The targets of the research

programme will be to validate thebenefits predicted in the earliersimulation work through investigativetesting of a research engine.

“It is extremely pleasing thatAutocar has chosen to recognise thepotential of the 2/4SIGHTengine’”explained Tim Lake, Ricardochief engineer – advanced gasolineengines, on accepting the award.“Together with our industry partnerswe look forward to testing the firstprototype engine next year and hopeto demonstrate potential of the2/4SIGHT concept to reduce emissionsand improve the overall performancecharacteristics of future vehicles.”

The highly successful Design ofExperiments (DoE) for PowertrainEngineering consortium, DEPE,moves into its fourth phase in 2006with plans to focus upon thedevelopment of optimisationmethods for exhaust aftertreatmentsystem development.

Originally established in 2000,DEPE brings together a wide range

of automotive industrypartners with thecommon objective ofdeveloping tools andtechniques for enginedevelopment andcalibration. Consortiumparticipants haveincluded Bosch,Caterpillar/Perkins,Cummins, DAF,DaimlerChrysler,Denso, GeneralMotors, Hino, Iveco,

Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Scania,Schenck and Siemens in addition toRicardo. The initial stages of DEPEfocused upon the development ofDoE tools for ‘global’ modelling - theadvanced method for diesel andgasoline engine calibration - andthese have been further refined intoan integrated suite of capabilities.Throughout the life of the

consortium, a number of newmembers have joined and the list ofdevelopment topics addressed hasreflected the needs of this expandedmembership. In recent years DEPEhas focused on aspects of enginedevelopment such as steady stateand transient engine calibration,emissions robustness, regenerationmode calibration, and OBD andholistic engine and transmissionoptimisation.

In the year ahead the consortiumwill focus upon further refinement ofits transient engine calibration toolsas well as development of newapproaches for deNOx systemcalibration and diesel aftertreatmentsimulation. DEPE remains open toapplications from new membercompanies. Further information may be obtained atwww.ricardo.com/depe or by e-mailto [email protected].

Ricardo News

The Ricardo 2/4SIGHT gasolineengine was announced as winner

of the Safety and Technology categoryat the highly prestigious 2005 Autocarawards ceremony held in London inNovember. This advanced andinnovative engine concept wasrecognised for its potential to deliveran improvement of up to 30 per centin fuel consumption and CO2

emissions, together with class leadingperformance

The 2/4SIGHT engine concept isbased on an innovative design ofcombustion system combined withadvanced valve train and controltechnologies, enabling automaticswitching between two- and four-stroke operation. By matching thecontrol strategy to make best use ofthe 2/4SIGHT engine’s capabilities,simulation studies have shown thatthe concept has the potential todeliver up to 30 per cent benefit in fuelconsumption and reduced CO2

emissions via aggressive enginedownsizing. Indeed 2/4SIGHTpromises similar CO2 emissions yetlower production costs than aconventional diesel engine.

It has also demonstratedcompliance with Euro 4 emissionsstandards and the potential to adapt tomeet future standards as applied to

Autocar award for 2/4SIGHT engineTim Lake picking up

the award

Aftertreatment & Transient Calibration focus for DoE consortium


each engine according to a number ofobjective and subjective criteria ineveryday driving situations – there isno instrumented testing. Each enginecompetes against all others. Ward'sbelieves this process recognizesengines used in a wide range ofvehicle segments, while the head-to-head format generates just 10 clearcutwinners free of the “categories” thatcould dilute such a competition.

The Global V6 family, of which theSaab 2.8 litre turbo is one of the latestproduct introductions, was developedwith the assistance of Ricardo asdescribed in the previous issue of RQ(see RQ 2005/Q4). As well as beingnominated as one of Ward’s 10 Best

Engines, the Saab engine attracted highpraise from the judges. According toChris Banks, “there are few engines asrefined and pleasant as this one.Cycling through the gears, theexpected whiff of turbo lag is almostnon-existent, as the peak torque of 258 lb.ft. (350 Nm) is available from2000 all the way to 4800 rev/min.”Fellow judge, Bill Visnic, was particularlyimpressed by its acceleration: “Wewould put the Saab 9-3 Aero's in-gearacceleration up against anything in itsclass, or against anything a class or twoabove. There are few V-8 sport sedans,for instance, that can run away whenthe full turbocharged fury of this 2.8l V-6is deployed.”

GM’sprestigious

2.8 litreturbochargedV6 engine asinstalled in theSaab 9-3 wasnominated asone of Ward’s10 BestEngines for2006. Now inits 12th year,the annual Ward's 10 Best Enginescompetition continues as the industrybarometer of powertraindevelopment. During a two-monthtesting period, Ward's editors evaluate

GM Global V6 named as top ten engine

Anumber of key newappointments have underscored

a strengthening of Ricardo’sinternational senior managementteam, including a new president ofRicardo Japan, businessdevelopment director for the UKoperations and directors respectivelyof the global vehicle and globalheavy duty diesel product groups.

Akio Okamura joins Ricardo aspresident of the Japanese subsidiaryfrom his previous position as partnerand Asia representative of theAutomotive Competence Centre ofinternational strategic consultancy,Roland Berger Ltd.

A mechanical engineer with anMBA from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, Okamuraspent the early part of his career withNissan Motor Company beforejoining A.T. Kearney as principal ofits Japanese Automotive Practice. Inthis new role as president of RicardoJapan Ltd, Okamura will be based atthe company’s Tokyo offices whichwere formally opened in October2005.

Raúl Meyer Murguía joins thecompany as direct of businessdevelopment for Ricardo UK. Meyer

comes to Ricardo from Capgeminiwhere he was vice president of theGlobal Manufacturing, High Tech andAutomotive Unit based inDüsseldorf, Germany. Prior to this,Meyer was vice president ofmarketing, sales and global businessdevelopment for automotive Tier 1supplier Valeo SA of France, havingpreviously held positions withMannesmann VDO AG, consultantsMcKinsey & Company, and A.T.Kearney. An industrial engineer withboth masters and doctorate degreesin business administration, Meyerhas joint Mexican and Germannationality.

Don Irvine joins Ricardo havingrecently returned to the UK fromSpain where he was overseasprogramme director for NissanEurope NV. A career automotiveengineer, Irvine spent a number ofyears at both MIRA and Rover beforejoining Nissan, where he spentfourteen years at the company’sEuropean operations. During thistime he developed considerable andwide-ranging skills and expertise invehicle engineering, includingproduct planning and majorprogramme delivery. Irvine takes

over as director of Ricardo’s GlobalVehicle Product Group from BobAllsopp, who will now takemanagerial responsibility for therunning of the Midlands TechnicalCentre, one of the company’s largestengineering facilities.

Ricardo’s Global Heavy Duty DieselProduct Group is similarlystrengthened with the appointmentof Dr. Peter Heuser as its director, arole which he will combine withresponsibility for all aspects ofengine engineering for Ricardo inGermany. A mechanical engineerspecialising in combustion engines,Heuser obtained his doctorate fromthe University of Aachen. Hesubsequently joined FEV, where hespecialised in areas such as variablevalvetrain technology and wasultimately promoted to the positionof manager for Advanced EngineComponents. In 1992 Heuser co-founded specialist engine technologyconsultancy, Meta Motoren-undEnergie-Technik GmbH, where hewas both partner and managingdirector.

Globalmanagementteam isstrengthened

Above (left to right): Don Irving, Peter Heuser,

Raul Meyer and Akio Okamura.


Ricardo News

The inaugural race of the new one-make series formula, Grand Prix

Masters, took place at the KyalamiInternational raceway in South Africaon November 13th 2005.

Grand Prix Masters tests the raceexperience, driving skills and sheernerve of the its drivers who competeagainst each other on the level playingfield of nominally identical, 600horsepower cars equipped with onlyminimal electronic aids. Yet as thename of the series implies, thesedrivers are no strangers tocompetition. Those eligible to getbehind the wheel in Grand PrixMasters must have competed inFormula 1 for at least two completeseasons. From its inception, theformula has also aimed to present atrue seniors’ competition rivallingthose of the international tennis andgolf circuits.

As such, drivers must be at least 45years of age and must have retiredfrom all forms of open-wheel racing.The list of those attracted to competein Grand Prix Masters thus reads likethe hall of fame of recent grand prixhistory: included in the roll of honourare former world champions NigelMansell and Emerson Fittipaldi. Thesingle-type nature of the formula,

coupled with the fact that driverscompete for a share of the prize pool,provides the basis for a true battle ofracing skill and a compelling spectaclefor the sport’s fans.

Manufactured by Delta Motorsport,the Grand Prix Masters car wasconceived in the form of stylingsketches as recently as June 2005, justfive months in advance of the inauguralrace. As with any competitionapplication, durability, robustnessand low weight were all-importantconsiderations. It was essential, too,that the transmission could providevalue for money but, most vitally of all,says Delta technical director NickCarpenter, “the key was that it neededto be race-proven”.

Given the extremely tight buildschedule of the car itself, there wouldbe minimal time available forsignificant vehicle-based transmissiondevelopment. Ricardo was able tomeet the combined requirements ofGrand Prix Masters and Delta with anadvanced, 6-speed, sequential shifttransmission with pneumatic semi-automatic gear-shift. This unit hadalready been well proven in the WorldSeries by Renault as well as in theInfiniti Pro series, where executivedirector Roger Bailey describes the

faultless reliability of the Ricardotransmission used in these series asbeing “almost legendary”. As such,Ricardo was able to offer ultra-reliable,race-proven technology together withthe comprehensive support requiredfor a leading-edge motorsportapplication.

With the first prototype car run atPembrey in late September, the fullcomplement of 17 Ricardo gearboxeswas delivered in just 12 weeks fromthe start of the programme, enablingDelta to meet its own extremely tightvehicle production schedule ahead ofNovember’s first race in South Africa.

So promising was the Kyalami eventthat Grand Prix Masters has alreadyannounced a full schedule of races for2006, including Qatar, Monza andSilverstone, before returning to SouthAfrica in November.

The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team again clinched victory inthe 2006 Dakar Rally, with its two Pajero/Montero Evolutionsachieving respectively first and third place overall. Thedevelopment and race support of the Ricardo transmissionthat delivers the power of these awesome cross country carsin the extremely harsh competition environment in which theyare used, was described in detail in a previous issue (RQSpring 2003). With 2006 marking the MitsubishiPajero/Montero Evolution’s fourth successive Dakar victory,this continues to be a winning collaboration between Ricardoand the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team.

Mitsubishi wins again at Dakar

Ricardo transmission powers Grand Prix Masters

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