Subaru Develops New 'Boxer' Diesel Engine

Motoring Channel Staff - 3/Oct/2006

Paris, France — To become a major player in the European car market, which is split relatively evenly between petrol and diesel fuel cars, diesel-power is a must, and some Asian marques such as Honda have been investing heavily in diesel technology in recent years.

Subaru has just jumped on this bandwagon but rather than just creating the standard inline 4-cylinder diesel engine, it has decided to stick with its trademark boxer engine, which is a world-first.

The Paris Motor Show was the chosen venue for the announcement that Subaru would build a horizontally opposed turbo diesel engine. As the Japanese company confirmed the development of its own unique diesel engine, it will also become the world’s first horizontally opposed diesel engine, officially called the Subaru Boxer Turbo Diesel.

The new engine is almost ready for production claims Subaru, which was developed by parent company Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan, and will be a timely addition to the award-winning Subaru line-up, as well as giving it an instant sales boost in Europe with Impreza models among others.

Subaru cites the new engine as another example of it's focus on advanced technology, yet diesel engines have been around for more than a hundred years. Anyway, the Subaru Boxer Turbo Diesel engine is claimed to maintain the excellent balance of Subaru's trademark horizontally opposed engine, which itself has been perfected over the past 34 years.

"The superb rotational balance of the horizontally-opposed engine allows low vibration because the pistons counteract each other to cancel it out," said Subaru Europe's man in charge, Hiroyuki Ikeda.

"Moreover, with its firmly supported crankshaft, the crankcase construction is strong enough to resist huge combustion pressure. The horizontally opposed engine’s character is proving an excellent match for a diesel engine. Also, the adoption of a thin journal for the crankshaft and turbocharger placed under the cylinder block enhances all the advantages of the boxer engine, which are low centre of gravity, low vibration, high rigidity and compactness," added Ikeda.

"This delivers diesel’s powerful torque from the engine to the wheels, and increases traction, making the Subaru Boxer Turbo Diesel yet another achievement of Subaru’s advanced technology. Last but not least, the Subaru Boxer Turbo Diesel boasts lower CO2 emissions in consideration of the environment," concluded Hiroyuki Ikeda.

Subaru has revealed that its new diesel boxer engine will be unveiled at next year's Geneva Motor Show, but that no production timetable has been announced. The 4-cylinder boxer diesel engine's power outputs and size (or sizes?) has not yet been revealed, but a 2.0-litre turbo diesel with 340Nm of torque is rumoured to be on the cards. Compared to a petrol engine of the same size, diesel engines are generally better for the environment, emitting less noxious fumes, and offer much higher levels of fuel efficiency, and Subaru's new block is expected to be its most fuel efficient engine ever built.