Highly flexible Classic Powertrain or Hybrid Concept?

The challeges facing internal combustion engines as passenger car drive systems, focus primarily on the conflicting targets of fuel consumption (CO2 emission) and the conventional toxic smissions. Other factor that have to be taken into account are production costs, performance behaviour and the associated driving pleasure comfort, durability and reliability. Gasoline and diesel engines are very different in terms of the fuel consumption/ emissions trade-off, Figure 1. with their extremely efficient exhaust aftertreatment, gasoline engines are highly emission-oriented, whereas turbocharged Diesel engines are extremely consumption- oriented due to their thermodynamic efficiency and a torque characteristic which perimits drivetrain implementations that favour good fuel consulption. Meeting future consumption and emission requirements will call for significant improvements in both combustion concepts, but with very different points of focus. There are basically not many measures that are suitable for improving both fuel consumption and toxic emissions at the same time. Without doubt, hybridisation will gain in improving gasoline engines and also addresses potential improvements offered by hybridisation.