At the Shanghai Auto Show, BYD unveiled a turbo-charged, fuel stratified, direct-injection all-aluminum-alloy gasoline engine designed and manufactured entirely in China. BYD designed this 1.5-liter engine and has paired it with a 6-speed Tiptronic dual clutch transmission, calling the pair the BYD “Ti+DCT”.
BYD has been working on the Ti+DCT technology for more than 2 years and owns the intellectual property supporting this technology, according to Stella Li, Senior Vice President of BYD. The Ti+DCT is a standard option on the BYD G6 1.5Ti sedan and is available as an option for other BYD 3 series models.
The BYD 1.5 Ti engine produces 1.43 times more power than the same displacement engine and is equivalent to a 2.4-liter gasoline engine. It provides a maximum torque output of 240 N&iddot;m (177 lb-ft) @1,750-3,500 rpm. Currently, only one other foreign brand is offering a turbo-charged engine that is comparable in the Chinese markets, according to BYD.
The BYD DCT technology combines manual transmission and conventional automatic transmission with shorter gear shifting, faster acceleration and response times, and has selective driving modes. In the “sports mode”, the DCT electronic programming controls shifting, allowing drivers to enjoy a sports-car-like driving experience.
BYD is targeting new energy technologies with their rechargeable-energy, ET power systems for electric vehicles. In December 2008 it began mass-production of the “dual-mode” electric and hybrid-electric tandem engines in the F3DM. BYD says that the release of the Ti+DCT engine shows that it is committed to improving its full line of gasoline-only engine designs, staying at the forefront of internal-combustion engine technology.