“There’s an old saying: ‘There’s no replacement for displacement,’” Visnic said. “Well, that’s finally been dispelled for most people.”
Big rigs are even getting the tiny engine treatment. General Motors Co. recently said it would offer a four-cylinder in the 2019 version of its Chevrolet Silverado. The truck will be more powerful than it was five years ago, when it was mated to a V-8.
“Think about that—a full-sized pickup,” Visnic said. “Once you jump that shark, everything is up for grabs.”
The Chevrolet announcement was a particular coup for BorgWarner, the Michigan-based company supplying its turbo. In recent years, that chunk of its business has grown at an annual rate of more than 11.5 percent, according to Hermann Breitbach, vice president of engineering for the group. What’s next? A wave of turbo-chargers bolted to engines with three cylinders, rather than four. “It’s kind of a logical trend,” Breitbach said.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.