FISITA MEDAL LECTURE--THE BMV ETA ENGINE CONCEPT

The desire to conserve mineral oil reserves has resulted in drastic increases in the cost of fuel which has become the predominant factor in operating cost criteria. Thus intensive efforts are being made throughout the automotive industry to reduce fuel consumption. Next to minimizing resistance forces, the optimization of engine and transmission offers the greatest potential for achieving this goal. For spark ignition engines this is best achieved by adapting the most efficient engine parameters to coincide with the general operating conditions. The BMW Eta engine concept when compared with current engine characteristics gives a comparable vehicle performance at considerably lower engine speeds with higher torque output. In general operating conditions this results in fuel savings of up to 15 per cent.