The next generation Ford Ka (Figo hatchback in India) will be getting an all-new 1.0-litre ECOnetic flex-fuel engine under its hood upon launch in Brazil this year. Ford Brazil inaugurated the new engine plant at Camaçari, Brazil yesterday that will be producing the new engine. The company has invested $400 million Brazilian Real on the facility and has a capacity of producing 2,10,000 engines annually.
The new 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, flex-fuel ECOnetic engine is a derivative of the acclaimed 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine and produces 85 HP at 6500 RPM and 105 Nm at 4500 RPM, weighing in at just 85 kgs. Flex-fuel engines are quite popular in Brazil as several models run on Ethanol, which is an equivalent fuel option to petrol in the country. The ECOnetic motor gets TiVCT technology which fluctuates the intake and exhaust valve timings independently. The engine is designed to reduce vibrations and also gets the ‘Easy Cold Start’ leaving the need of separate equipment for cold starts.
Other manufacturers such as Hyundai and Volkswagen too have a 1.0-litre flex fuel engine that competes with Ford’s unit. Hyundai’s Kappa Flex 1.0 engine powering the HB20 hatchback produces 80 HP of power, while Volkswagen’s 1.0-litre Total Flex engine powering the Fox BlueMotion and Up! hatchbacks produces 82 HP of power. In both cases, Ford’s ECOnetic engine provides the best in class power and torque.
The all new Ford Ka hatchback will go on sale in July this year with the new engine under its hood. The Figo sedan on the other hand will be launched in October and will not feature the flex-fuel feature. In India too, Ford could introduce the 1.0-litre ECOnetic engine sans flex-fuel on the Figo sedan or could stick to the 1.0-litre EcoBoost unit, when it goes on sale in 2015. While the Figo sedan concept received rave reviews for its design, the interiors still remain a mystery. We do expect to get the new SYNC system, Bluetooth telephony and a host of other infotainment systems on the Figo sedan in India.
The new Ford facility in Brazil employees 300 staff members, whereas 3.80 lakhs hours of intensive training have been invested for the new recruits at the plant. The new facility is very crucial for the company and will play a key role in ensuring that Ford is able to meet its target of launching 23 new models across different regions in 2014. The Ka twins will be replacing the Figo hatchback and the Fiesta Classic models in India and will be manufactured at the company’s upcoming manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat.
