[arjab]

A lot is being said about the Ford Ecoboost engine and its output of 100+ horses from a mere 1-litre capacity in a mainstream mass produced car.

But hold on, haven't someone already trodden this path before ?

Which brought to mind : a certain DAIHATSU CHARADE GTti launched in 1987.
Powered by a in-line, straight-3, 12-valve, 993cc, Turbocharged, intercooled engine, this pocket rocket weighed in at a waif like 800 odd kilo's, pumped out a frenetic 100Ps from just under a litre and could do a sub 9 seconds 0-100kmph dash ! In fact, this engine also had the distinction of boasting of a specific output if 100Ps/Litre and, according to motoring hacks of that decade, was a fair bit fun to drive as well.

History repeats itself?

Wow!! Never heard of this car before.

It is a true 2 seater car with a huge boot and it hardly weighs 800 Kilos. There is no surprise here as the car looks too short.

Now, i would love to drive such a vehicle. Thanks for getting this info to us.

[swiftnfurious]

Isn't Daihatsu, the low cost brand from Toyota? Was it their subsidiary that time as well? Looks like they had some superb R&D team and now I don't see such engines from Toyota. Or are those available else where?

[nitrous]

I don't think the charade GTi is as fuel efficient as the Ecoboost will be.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Isn't Daihatsu, the low cost brand from Toyota? Was it their subsidiary that time as well? Looks like they had some superb R&D team and now I don't see such engines from Toyota. Or are those available else where?

Yes you are right and Daihatsu came up with some real gems at that point of time. The GTti had a very short production life between 1987 to 1993 when ever tightening emission norms and spiralling insurance costs (especially in UK) killed it off.
I think even till today the Charade GTti holds the record of "100ps-per-litre-from-sub-1-litre-sub-4m-hatch-weighing-less-than-850kgs" category. In fact these cars are now much sought after as modern day classics.

You can find more about them at this link:
http://www.gttioc.com/

Cheers!

Originally Posted by nitrous

I don't think the charade GTi is as fuel efficient as the Ecoboost will be.

It was not. Back in 1987 , some UK motoring magazines measured the Dai's FE between 13-14kmpl. Of course, in those days of lax emission laws, (i think it was Euro-1), for a 100Ps hot hatch these were considered to be quite decent figures.

Note from Team-bhp support: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

[Sankar]

Small capacity high performance engines were the forte of the Japanese, they made their small cars and engines that way because of the Kei car rules which required them to make that way. Daihatsu and the Suzuki were the companies which pushed forward with their small pocket rocket cars. Another pocket rocket car which comes to mind is the Suzuki's Alto Works.

Eventhough the turbo kei engines were a common thing in Japan it didn't get worldwide acceptance mostly because those cars were JDM and only few got out of Japan as grey imports in Countries like Australia. Ecoboost is following the small cap high performance philosophy and if it can bring these highly efficient engines to the mainstream market and make the world accept it then its a good thing.

Likewise, i wish that Suzuki bring some of their small turbo engines here in India. One such engine i can think of is the updates version of the K10A Turbo. K10A Turbo came in '97 JDM WagonR, its a 1 liter 4 pot VVT engine putting out 99 horses and 122NM of torque. An updated version of this engine (or a turbo K12 ) with probably more power and torque can be used here... if the turbo petrol scene catches up.

[ramzsys]

Even the 1 litre Diahatsu diesel is fitted in some cars here, including Premier Padmini and some M800s.

I met a guy with his M800 who came for road tax renewal and he said he is getting 30+ kmpl!

[Nitrous Power]

Originally Posted by nitrous

I don't think the charade GTi is as fuel efficient as the Ecoboost will be.

Charade GTi was introduced in 1987. You can't compare they engine to Ecoboost. Given the regulations and standards of that time, it was considered fuel efficient.