The green-hued amorphous blob of a car doesn’t seem like anything interesting. As a concept car, the new Lincoln C Concept doesn’t really tickle anyone’s fancy. But whatever it lacks in exterior appearance, it makes up for it with fancy new technology—technology with the single aim to make American cars more fuel efficient once again. Going past the laser-etched floral print on the seats and the suicide doors, the in-vehicle technology featured in the C Concept are all ripe and ready for production. And if everything Ford says is true, the C Concept should achieve 18.28 km/L in fuel efficiency without the need for a fancy petrol/electric hybrid engine.
The secret is the use of both proven and new technology: proven is the PowerShift dual-clutch six-speed transmission which has already débuted on the Ford Focus while the new is a new generation 1.6-liter engine with EcoBoost. Underneath the Lincoln C Concept, the PowerShift system is of a ‘dry-clutch’ derivative, eliminating the need for an oil pump or torque converter providing for superior mechanical efficiency and a lower curb weight. Ford also did changes to the dual-clutch system to improve fuel economy such as a neutral coast down function that disengages the clutch when the brakes are applied (improved downshifts), a clutch slip proving torsional damping (for improved NVH) and a low-speed creep mode with hill start assist.
More importantly is the debut of the EcoBoost engine technology in a four-cylinder configuration. With 180 horsepower and 250 Nm of torque output, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost can easily trounce engines with displacements up to 2.5-liters. The secret is the use of direct fuel injection technology and turbo charging. By reducing the displacement from 2.0-liter to 1.6-liters, a 10 percent fuel economy gain has already been realized. The use of variable camshaft timing, another 5 percent is added. The Assisted Direct Start, which shuts the engine down when at idle adds another 3 percent.
Though the Lincoln C Concept will not see the light of the showroom floor, its key engine technologies are already being put into different Ford products. The EcoBoost V6 engine has already made its debut while the PowerShift feature is now available in the Ford Focus. The addition of the 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine with PowerShift will most likely make it to the third-generation Ford Focus which will become a global model.
By Ulysses Ang
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
