Fiat Australia has confirmed it will introduce its advanced, all-new TwinAir engine in both the 500 and 500C from early next year.
The engine, which received kudos in this year’s International Engine of the Year awards, will redefine small engine technology, compact design and fuel efficiency, Fiat says. The lightweight unit is 10 per cent lighter than the 500’s current powerplant, while also being 23 per cent smaller in physical size.
In Fiat 500 and 500C models, the two-cylinder TwinAir engine will develop a total output of 63kW and 145Nm from its 875cc capacity. These figures will enable the light hatch to return a combined average fuel consumption figure of just 3.6L/100km (a 30 per cent improvement on the current four-cylinder model) while emitting only 92g/km of CO2.
Despite these frugal numbers, the 500 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 11 seconds. To provide swift performance, TwinAir utilises a multitude of up to the minute technologies, including Fiat’s MultiAir electro-hydraulic valve management system, variable vane turbocharger, improved gas flow management and low friction internal surfaces.
“Given that the open top Fiat 500C is all about enjoying fresh air motoring it would have been wrong not to have the new TwinAir engine from day one,” said Fiat Australia general manager, Andrei Zaitzev.
“Therefore, we will launch both the Fiat 500 and the 500C with TwinAir at the same time; there will be no delay between the two variants as there was for their original launches.”
Full specification and pricing information on the Fiat 500 TwinAir range will be announced closer to its local launch in early 2012.
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