MAN alone on the green trail
Page 18
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• MAN may not be following its competitors along the route to unit injector fuel systems for future low-emission diesel.
This was the reply from the company's engineering chief Dr Klaus Schubert at last week's Amsterdam Show, when asked about the moves by MercedesBenz and Scania to tap into US fuel injection expertise.
Schubert acknowledged that full electronic control of both metering and timing would be necessary to meet the 1996 Euro 2 emissions standards, but was adamant that "unit injectors are not the only solution".
He confirmed that MAN would work in conjunction with proprietary injection equipment suppliers. While the company was "open to discussion", he added, MAN was unlikely to develop engines with another major engine manufacturer.
As far as other engine technology was concerned, Schubert said that MAN would only move to four valves per cylinder if convinced the added complication was necessary; similarly, although MAN had studied turbocompounding, it felt that it was an expensive solution for the added performance.
Moving to the current range, Schubert highlighted the use of a wastegate turbocharger on the new 198kW (266hp) version of the company's 6.87-litre engine (see Amsterdam Show Report, pages 8-12), and confirmed that versions of the 12-litre .422 six are being sold in Germany with Bosch's Electronic Diesel Control (EDC) system.
It is likely that the range of EDC engines will be expanded at the Hanover Show in May with a 12-litre .372 variant.