Freevalve Develops Camless Engine

Koenigsegg’s sister company FreeValve has come close to a production ready version of a camless engine. Qoros unveiled a working prototype of the engine at the 2016 Guangzhou auto show. This prototype made its debut subsequent to the unveiling of a concept vehicle that Qoros had debuted earlier in the year.

The new engine, which Qoros has chosen to term “Qamfree” uses pneumatic valve actuators instead of a camshaft to open up the valves of the camless engine. These valves are then closed using air pressure or springs. Thus, on both the exhaust and intake sides, motorists get more precise and completely customizable control over valve duration and lift.

This technology was developed by FreeValve, and the company claims that using this technology will help the engine to perform with higher torque and power. The use of “camless technology in combination with downsizing will definitely reduce fuel consumption and enhance fuel efficiency. The technology also eliminates the need for components like the wastegate, direct injection systems, throttle body, cam drive, camshaft, timing gear and cover, and pre-catalytic converter systems. This will help to optimize engine with regard to complexity, size, and weight.

The Qoros’ prototype is inspired by the brand’s 3 compact hatchback and comes with a turbocharged 1.6-liter camless engine which apparently has an output of 230 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. That is similar to the performance of BMW Group’s turbocharged 2.0-liter engine’s performance in models like Mini’s John Cooper Works range, which has an output of 228 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque.

The Qoros 3 prototype has the first driveable version of FreeValve’s camless engine which has been designed for large scale production. Qoros and FreeValve will shortly commence testing a fleet of prototypes before beginning production of a production model that has not been named so far.