Proton X50 Engine Wins Prestigious Award

Hangzhou, 28th October 2020 – Geely was awarded first prize in the China Automotive Industry Awards for Science and Technology for their development of the 1.5-litre TGDi high performance powertrain mated to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission.

The award is regarded as the highest honour as well as the most prestigious and influential technological award for the China automotive industry and is also known as the industry’s “Nobel Prize”. In Malaysia, the award-winning engine and transmission pairing powers the Proton X50 that was recently launched to widespread acclaim.

The engine was jointly developed by Geely and Volvo Cars tapping on expertise from facilities in both Hangzhou, China, and Gothenburg, Sweden. The co-developed three-cylinder engine incorporates powerful performance, lightweight structure, high reliability and good fuel economy through technological innovation.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

AUTOMOTIVE

In line with latest engine trends, the 1.5TD three-cylinder engine is turbocharged and incorporates direct injection together with dual variable valve timing. Its outputs of 177PS and 250Nm enables the X50 to offer performance far exceeding its segment peers and on par with premium vehicles.

Another development target was to achieve the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance levels that is on par with four-cylinder engines. To address customer concerns of perceived engine vibration from a three-cylinder engine, Geely carried out 120 NVH optimisation exercises which included the dedicated design of 12 key parts such as a vibration damping balancer shaft and dual mass flywheel with centrifugal pendulum absorber damper.

The 7-speed DCT, on the other hand, was developed by Geely based on the engineering standards of Volvo Cars. It provides a maximum power transmission efficiency of 97.2% and manages to accomplish a 0.2-second shift response time, perfectly matching the 1.5TD engine.

To date, the 1.5TD engine itself is used in more than 600,000 vehicles worldwide, whilst the 7DCT transmission, which is also featured in the 2020 Proton X70, is estimated to have been fitted to over a million vehicles by the end of 2020. Together, the 1.5TD+7DCT combo is exported to 11 countries, with plans to increase that number to 27 by the end of 2021.

The 1.5TD+7DCT is one of two powertrain combinations currently offered in the X50, available exclusively in the range-topping Flagship variant. Other variants of the X50 feature the 1.5T engine with conventional port injection offering a still-respectable 150PS and 226Nm, also paired with the same 7-speed DCT.

Advanced three-cylinder engine wins first prize in the China Automotive Industry Awards for Science and Technology.

AT A GLANCE – PROTON'S NEW ENGINE FAMILY

BACKGROUND

Geely & Volvo joint development

Testing: 1.9 million km

(more than 40 times around the world)

Used in more than 600,000 cars worldwide

MECHANICAL

POWER CURVE

TORQUE CURVE

ENGINE TYPE

DISPLACEMENT

INDUCTION

FUEL INJECTION

1.5L T

1,477cc

Turbocharged

Port

1.5 TGDi

1,477cc

Turbocharged

Direct

POWER

TORQUE

VVT

FUEL CONSUMPTION

150PS

226Nm

Dual VVT

6.5 l/100km

177PS

255Nm

Dual VVT

6.4 l/100km

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