Tata to launch new 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine family

Although India is still predominantly a diesel-powered market, the world is unanimously moving towards smaller, turbocharged engines for the purpose of powering everything from small family hatchbacks to compact SUVs to legendary sportscars and even the occasional muscle car. The trend started by Fiat with its little sub-1-litre TwinAir engine has been popularised in India by the advent of the Ford EcoBoost engine family and of course, Volkswagen’s TSi engine family. Formula 1 too has moved to 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines as compared to bigger naturally aspirated engines for better fuel efficiency and performance.

Not to be left behind, Tata Motors has been secretly developing a turbocharged petrol engine platform which will power next generation Tata hatchbacks and saloons. J Anand’s Jayem Automotives in Coimbatore designed initial prototypes on the 1.4-litre platform but later due to government norms, the plans for this engine family were shelved and moved to the 1.2-litre family instead. The 1.2-litre engine is said to develop just under 100PS of peak power. 

This new 1.2-litre engine will power the likes of the new Vista and Manza facelift and the all-new Manza CS, which is expected to be unveiled at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo. Although no definitive information on the engine family has been announced, we expect this new engine to meet next generation emission norms and beyond apart from delivering a decent dollop of performance. 

The 1.2-litre turbocharged engines may not replace the standard 1.4-litre and 1.2-litre engines available in Vista and Manza platform but will initially be offered as a top of the line variant just as Ford with the EcoBoost powered Ecosport and the Volkswagen Polo GT TSi.