Ford Unveils Smallest and Most Efficient EcoBoost Engine Yet

In keeping with their plan to rely heavily on the EcoBoost engine line up, Ford has introduced another variant of the potent powerplant. This time, the turbocharged engine displaces a total of 1.6 liters, making it the smallest and possibly the most widely used for the upcoming model years.

As with the EcoBoost 2.0L, the 1.6L makes use of turbo charging and direct injection to boost efficiency as high as possible. Independent variable valve timing was also included to provide allow the engine to run at optimum performance for the widest engine speed possible. Official power figures have not been released yet but, assuming performance figures are comparable to its slightly bigger brother, the new EcoBoost engine should be producing around 175 horsepower and about the same amount of torque.

Ford is planning on using the EcoBoost lineup, which they will continue to expand upon, to replace the naturally aspirated engines presently being used across much of their current lineup. They are aiming at producing over one million of the more efficient engines over the next three to four years, with the final number totaling 1.3 million by the end of 2012.