World premiere for Kia's 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder in Geneva

Kia's all new 1.0-litre T-GDi (turbo gasoline direct injection) 'Kappa' engine will make its world production debut at the 85^th Salon International de l'Automobile in Geneva on 3^rd of March 2015. The new power unit is the first of Kia's upcoming range of downsized engines to make its debut in Europe, and has been developed in-house by Kia's powertrain development team at its Namyang, Korea R&D centre. 

Throughout the T-GDi's development, Kia's R&D teams have aimed for a 10 to 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the brand's current 1.6-litre GDi engine.

The new downsized engine features a newly-developed laser-drilled injector, with six individual holes. Instead of consistently injecting the fuel air mixture onto certain points within the combustion chamber, the laser-drilled holes, laid out in a pyramid shape, provide a more even spread of fuel and air throughout the cylinder. Backed by a high pressure pump, the new laser-drilled injectors are able to provide fuel injection pressure of up to 200bar.

The T-GDi's single-scroll turbocharger is paired with an electric wastegate motor, which improves the turbocharger's performance with a highly efficient air scavenging strategy. As well as scavenging clean air for the engine to reuse for combustion, it is able to open the wastegate at the same time to improve waste air flow.

This innovative system allows for greater low-end torque, more immediate engine response from any throttle position, and improved fuel economy under higher engine loads. In the Kia cee'd GT Line, the engine's maximum 172Nm torque is available across a wide 1,500-4,100rpm range, with maximum power arriving at 6,000rpm. In the same applicaiton, the engine will develop 118bhp and 172Nm torque, and has been engineered to deliver lower CO₂ emissions than the 1.6-litre GDi engine found in other cee'd models, pending homologation.