It’s currently not known what engines will power the all-new 2019 Silverado 1500, but one industry analyst has hinted that a new 2.7L opposed-piston engine might find its way into Chevy’s new truck.
In a recent tweet, Auto Industry Analyst and Forbes Contributor Dave Sullivan asks, “Is GM getting ready to release a 37 mpg Silverado?” The tweet then links to a press release from Achates Power, Inc., and it’s here where things get really interesting.
Is GM getting ready to release a 37 mpg Silverado? https://t.co/QRzwp7O8Kn
— Dave Sullivan (@dfsullivan) December 19, 2017
Digging into Achates Power unveils some intriguing details. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in San Diego, Achates designs exists to create “Fundamentally Better Engines”. In January 2017, the firm announced the development of an opposed-piston engine for a Light-Duty Truck that “will surpass CAFE 2025 regulations”. The motor “will be 30-50 percent more efficient than comparable engines, reduce emissions and cost less than alternative technologies under development for meeting CAFE”, reads a press release from the company.
Achates Power opposed-piston engine
What’s more, Achates says that the OP engine will 270 horsepower and 650Nm (450 pound-feet) of torque, enabling the test truck that powered by the demonstration engine to achieve 37 MPG. Notably, that is above the 33 MPG fully phased-in CAFE 2025 requirement for a full-size, light-duty pick-up truck (65-70 square feet). For the sake of reference, the best fuel economy delivered by the K2 platform Silverado is 16 MPG city and 23 MPG highway (with the 5.3L V-8 L83 engine) or 18 MPG city and 24 MPG highway (with the base 4.3L V-6 LV3 engine).
In that year-old press release, Achates stated that its demonstration engine will be integrated into a drivable prototype in 2018 and that “development engines will also be available for automakers.”
“There is no technical solution to respond to the proposed 2025 CAFE regulation that is as cost effective, compatible with our existing vehicles and fuels, ready for production and adaptable to future renewable fuels as our Opposed-Piston Engines”, says David Johnson, president and CEO, Achates Power. This is where things get even more interesting.
Achates Power President and CEO David Johnson was responsible for diesel engine programs at General Motors and Ford
Johnson has been at the helm of Achates since 2008. Before joining Achates, he was in charge of military and export markets at Navistar and before that,
he worked for General Motors – where he was program manager and chief engineer for multiple clean-diesel engine programs for Opel, Saab and Renault passenger vehicles. Johnson also worked at Ford, where he led the development and launch of the SuperDuty, equipped with an all-new diesel engine.
Achates’ technical documents state that its opposed-piston engine uses significantly fewer parts than a traditional internal combustion engine. For instance, it eliminates the cylinder head(s), valvetrain and related components, while also decreasing the size and cost of the aftertreatment system. A comparison between the 2.7L OP Engine and a comparable V6 engine with supercharger shows a parts reduction of over 60 percent, enabling an approximate 10 percent cost reduction.
Reducing cost is one of Achates’ goals. Using two documents – the EPA’s 2016 Technical Assessment Report (which forecast cost increases to integrate fuel saving technology) and a related National Academy of Sciences report, Achates determined that including the Opposed-Piston Engine in the roadmap to achieve CAFE will be at least $1000 less expensive.
Even more absorbing: Achates’ OP engines apparently “fits into all vehicle platforms”.
The GM Authority Take
This is all very intriguing as it relates to the 2019 Silverado for three primary reasons.
First, the timeline for the introduction of the all-new Silverado (late 2018) correlates with the introduction of a development prototype of Achates’ OP engine.
Second, the OP engine presents a very interesting opportunity for the Silverado from the perspective of fuel economy and meeting 2025 CAFE regulations. The challenge for automakers like General Motors and Chevrolet, however, isn’t in simply meeting the regulations, as much as it is meeting them in a cost-effective way. In that regard, the Achates OP engine appears to be a big help in delivering an engine that can balance both stipulations.
Not only is the engine more efficient, but it’s also said to be significantly lighter than regularly-designed modern internal combustion engines, thereby helping lower a vehicle’s overall curb weight.
Third, Chevy needs a more competitive mid-range engine for the new Silverado 1500 to compete against Ford’s 2.7L EcoBoost V-6, which not only outclasses the Silverado’s 5.3L L83 V-8 in terms of torque but also in terms of fuel economy… at least on paper.
We will know whether the new 2019 Silverado 1500 will actually use Achates’ OP engine in short time, as Chevy is due to release complete details about the new truck at a special event on January 13th.
About 2019Â Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet has gone on record in saying that the 2019 Silverado 1500 is the result of over 7,000 customer interviews – the most intensive research in its history. The new truck has been confirmed to use “higher grade alloy steel” in the bed floor as well as various mixed materials that will result in a reduction in weight and improved performance. Moreover, the 2019 Silverado will also offer an expanded amount of (eight) models (including the new 2019 Silverado Trailboss variant) with more engine/transmission combinations and more technology and convenience features.
We’ll know full details about the new Silverado at Chevy’s upcoming media event scheduled for January 13th, 2018 ahead of the 2018 North American International Auto Show. In the meantime, be sure to follow our Chevy Silverado news coverage.
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Comments
Its going to have a 2.7 liter 4 cylinder. I know this for a fact. 100% guaranteed. I cant reveal how i know because of my job
Do you agree with this article?
Am I the one thinking if you can do 270hp/450tq from a 2.7, how about a 4L 6 cylinder that makes even more power??
Pretty crazy hp to tq ratio though. I imagine it’s doesn’t rev very high and is much like a diesel. Which begs the question, if this is true, why bother with a diesel?
Or how about a diesel OP?
I believe that this operates more like a high torque 2 cycle but not using 2 cycle oil gas mixture. it would be high torque and high rev.
We have been looking into this at work trying to sort this out. We need a little more info but it is interesting.
I don’t see how 2 cycle or 2 cycle style are good for longevity, yes they are high and fast rev but looking back at everything with 2 cycle, they all fall short for longevity.
2 cycle is only an example as I am sure this will have a oil system not oil in the gas.
Also even oil in gas 2 cycles are often damaged today due to the gas we have today.
In the case of this engine it is just cylinder stroke count not oil in gas. If built properly it should do just fine. The key is IF.
I hope your right
Sounds interesting, but do you think that GM would get bad publicity for not developing said engine themeselves?
Dodge and Nissan dont with the Cummins. Ford didn’t with their ‘new’ 3.0 diesel. A lot of manufacturers don’t develop their own transmissions, forced induction, differentials (Aisin, BorgWarner, Allison, Eaton, Tremec, ZF). I don’t think any manufacturer makes their own electricals and ECU (Bosch). A lot of infotainment units run on BlackBerry’s QNX. From Tesla to GM, they are nothing without their suppliers.
I was specifically talking about engine. Im aware that all manufacturers use suppliers for anything and everything.
GM has a long history of working with other companies. Lotus Engineering still does engine work for them as has many others.
GM even has farmed out cars. The Fiero had a lot of work done by Entech and even Porsche did the tuning on the 88 suspension.
I would recommend anyone to go to their web site and watch the video. It is ingenious but I still have questions on oil systems etc.
If this really works and proves durable it could be a gam3 changer.
But how could the keep this seceret?
As far as oil system, It seems like it’ll be more practical to rotate it horizontal like the boxer engine but in reverse.
it appears my comment got eaten.
They could have entered into a co-development like GM did with LG
Only people who want to find something to knock them for it!
Hmmm this comes off as an April fools joke. But it is compelling.
There are some things here that are intriguing. There are things that are lining up. But we have no evidence any of the miles using this. You would think the sound of anything less than 6 or 8 cylinders would have been noticed,
Also leaks from suppliers or even patent has been noticed.
Could be this might be a Engine to come? Or did GM pull off one of the biggest engines off all time and no one caught it?
I doubt this will be in the new truck starting out but I trust this engine is being kicked around.
I hope this is true and that if the do go to this they have it sorted to where there are no issues what so ever. Going to new technology like this requires you get it spot on.
If true and it really works like this we could really see a major historic automotive event.
270 horsepower and 650Nm (450 pound-feet) of torque while getting 37 miles per gallon in a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is mind blowing and totally thinking out of the box given that it will meet all emission standards for 2025.
In relation to the story, that this will debut on MY19 Silverado, I fail to see the connection between this engine company about to release their “development prototype” in 2018 and a production MY19 Silverado which will be hitting dealership lots roughly nine months from now…They’re years away, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t debut until 2025 which could possibly be a next generation Silverado anyways…
Maybe, maybe not… though you’re stretching that timeline significantly. Their goal seems to be in mass production significantly quicker than that.
As for the rest… that’s why we have a question mark at the end of the title… and spin it in such a way so as to cast doubt on the rumor.
I understand as an engine maker your goal is to get the engine into production ASAP, yet there’s so much testing that must be done once this is put into a vehicle…
A great example is Cummins with the new Nissan Titan… “Nissan and Cummins worked together to optimize calibration and specific hardware for the Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel since the partnership began in 2007. The engine has been undergoing rigorous validation work since then, with countless hot and cold test cell hours and millions of grueling test miles to prepare it for production.”
https://cumminsengines.com/nissan-titan
And this was a coming from an engine maker with a proven success record using a conventional design…
Wrong with that paralell with the Cummins engine. Cummins hade difficulties selling the engine to GM and Ford in the years around 2006 and then they finally found that Nissan may adopt the engine.
Not remotely the point which you clearly missed…
“worked together to optimize calibration and specific hardware” for a decade…
Could be a staggered release with this setup being available summer of 2019. If this is happening, it’s already been in progress for a while.
Common sense says that this is years off. Being it is not a GM engine but a private firm there is always the chance they kept this pretty well covered.
This could easily be just another pipe dream like so many other engines or it really could lead to a whole new way to make power.
Either way it is intriguing.
100% agree; overall point being, unless there’s been years of an automaker working with this company with their own parts such as say their AC Delco A/C compressor, there’s no chance this will find its way into production of a large automaker without years of validation testing…If they’re been operating incognito hand in hand with an automaker like GM for years that’s another story…
The more I think about this, the more I realized that if GM does this it opens the door for a powerhouse 4+ liter diesel that makes at least 300hp and 500 ft lbs of torque. It won’t get as good of mileage as the Powerstroke and ED but it makes more power and then they still squash the competition in mileage with this setup. Combine that with some small upgrades on the 5.3 and 6.2 (4.3 for fleet and base models) and their lineup will be epic.
If it is so, it will be a major shock. Not that they couldn’t do that but just doing a complete change from an OHV to this new opened piston type motor.. I don’t know much about it and buyers probably going to be curious about it being the first to come out of all the major automakers.. also that engine in the video looks to be a 6 cylinder
Technically it’s a 3 cylinder with 6 pistons…For a pickup you’d also imagine you could use a less powerful a 2 cylinder 4 piston to provide even better fuel economy…Furthermore, if they elect to hybrid or eAssist it, it could further improve in fuel economy…A 60mpg hybrid full size pickup wouldn’t be out of the question if this design proves true…
Hmmm. Well opposed piston engines have been around forever. I wouldn’t think the executive decision makers would allow such a big change from a traditional design in their highest profit vehicles without first trying it in lower volume vehicles. It’d definitely be a shock to many (including myself) if this did show up in the new trucks.
Are people this focused on MPGS? I’d rather have a LT4 650 version that gets 10 MPGS!
General Motors needs to consider using this new 2.7L Opposed Piston engine which makes 270 horsepower and 650Nm (450 pound-feet) of torque while getting 37 miles per gallon in other vehicles; imagine having this in the Chevy Trax which was labeled as being one of the least satisfying to drive… the Chevy Trax entire personality could change with this engine as it could be like a sports-CUV while still getting excellent fuel economy.
The tow rating is a concern as it only has 270 hp. Sure, torque gets you up and going but you need hp to keep you there and for passing, uphill grades, etc. I’d give up some torque (drop to 420’ish) to get at least 300 hp. That would seriously compete with the 2.7 Ecoboost for all-around performance and towing.
I was thinking this would compete very favorably to the Powerstroke and Ecodiesel.
I believe the base 2019 Silverado/Sierra will use a 3.6L V6 DOHC direct-injection found in Colorado.
Interesting. Reminds me of the Fairbanks Morse opposed piston engines, developed in the 1930’s and still in use. I would be interested if offered.
If it´s coming it´s i major success for the Swedish Company Sintercast , the world leader of making CGI which is the blockmaterial in this engine.
The brazilian foundry Tupy did an upgrade last summer for a new secret car engine
“in preparation for the start of series production, ” which is said to begin early this year.
https://sintercast.com/file/documents/pdf/library-2/press-releases-1/2017/Tupy-Saltillo-Line-4-upgrade-English.pdf
If it´s just a speculation the Achates engine is getting lots of PR. I just recall that the Automotive Analyzer Sullivan from Forbes seems to be the first writer of this at his Twitter in December. He is probably very informed about things happening in Automotive.
I also cecall that the following is one year old “But the bigger bombshell was his announcement that of the nine automakers who have signed on as development partners, at least one of them has begun tooling up to build an opposed-piston engine in volume.”
Capital IF this engine does the things it is claimed to do re emissions and mileage potential it would be a game changer for the domestic and light truck diesel market. I hate the thought VW might have killed the market.
If GM puts this in a 1500 I’ll buy it. Being an early adopter wouldn’t run me off. Especially if the match the 2500 warranty of 100,000 miles.
I just saw this at NAIAS. A true gamechanger
https://www.trucks.com/2018/01/15/detroit-auto-show-achates-aramco-pickup-engine/
with CGI in the block
Well after reading the article ,that CGiron brought out , It seems that Ford will beat the Chevy to market with achates-aramco / CGI engine
Achates Power is currently putting its OP-engine demo vehicles in customer hands. Watch Automotive Engineering for program updates and an on-road driving report later this year.
GM will surely have a chance to hook on
http://articles.sae.org/15843/
Swedish Company Sintercast is behind the High-Tech of the CGI in this engines block
https://sintercast.com/$-1/file/dokument/2017/2018/NAIAS-2018-English.pdf
A coming gamechanger I think.