Fiat and Alfa Romeo set to debut camless engine technology

[Plex]

The Fiat 500 and Alfa Romeo Junior could be the first vehicles to roll of the production floor without a cam or camshaft under the hood, a new report finds. Instead, both vehicles are expected to use camless valve actuation system that replaces a traditional cam setup. The technology would hit the road in 2009 for the Fiat 500 and later this year for the Junior.

The camless technology � which has been in us in Formula One cars for years � has several advantages over a traditional cam setup. According to Automotive News, the news system allows for lean-burn operation and individual cylinder shutdown for fuel saving. As a result, fuel consumption and emissions can be improved by 20%, all while increasing the engine's performance. The technology also eliminates the weight and frictional losses of rotating camshafts and cams.

Fiat is also believed to be developing its camless technology � dubbed Multiair � for diesel engines. "Fiat is going all out for these technologies," Global Insight's Andrew Close told Automotive News. "This is a way of getting diesels to meet Euro 6 without going to selective catalyst reduction. It's probably cheaper than SCR or NOx traps."

Until recently, the camless systems wasn't seen as viable due to packaging issues. However, new development has seen the size of the devices shrink.

At least three different suppliers are currently working on the technology: Valeo, Lotus Engineering and Jacobs Vehicle Systems of Connecticut. Outside of the Fiat 500 and Alfa Romeo Junior, the first uses of the camless technology are expected to be in heavy commercial diesel engines.

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