Orbital links with Changan

WESTERN Australia’s Orbital Corporation and China’s Changan Automobile Company have signed a contract to co-develop a concept engine employing Orbital’s Australian-designed air-assisted direct injection technology, FlexDI.

Most recently seen on the variable-compression two-stroke Omnivore research engine from Lotus, FlexDI will be fitted to Changan’s current petrol engine family in a $2.4 million 18-month proof of concept development program at Orbital’s Perth engineering centre.

If Changan’s “aggressive” fuel consumption reduction targets can be met while achieving Euro IV emissions standards, Orbital’s patented low-pressure, air-assisted direct injection system could enter volume production in a range of Changan vehicles.

Orbital says its integrated ignition/injection FlexDI system, which has been used in outboard marine, motorcycle and ATV engine applications since 2000, is adaptable to suit almost all alternative fuels including hydrogen.

Established in 1996, Changan produces a range of passenger and commercial vehicles for the Chinese market, including the Changan Star mini-car and three sedans: the Benni, Jiexun and Zhixiang, plus the Jiangling brand of engines.

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