)uieter Prima Sherpa
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Perkins' direct-injection Pri. diesel engine used in the Eight Rover Sherpa 200 van I have a quieter two-stage ;1 injection system from next with and Rover, with whom rkins jointly developed the it, will follow suit by fitting it the Maestro 500 and 700 Is from next Spring.
The new system is claimed reduce the diesel knock nor associatd with direct intion CI (compression injecn) engines in the lower :ed range by four to five (A) says Perkins, thanks to actors with two springs of ferent rates. Pressure from revised Bosch pump lifts needle valve to provide the tial slow injection at the start the delay period then, as :ssure continues to rise, the [ye stem compresses the :and spring, releasing more for the main diffusion burn. The ratio between fuel flows des over the engine rev and [cl range, but the combustion stem is tuned to be most ective at low speeds. At her speeds under full loads, iere diesel noise is less of a Dblem, the springs operate nultaneously. As well as recing noise, Perkins says there is a 30%-plus reduction in emissions.
Freight-Rover is confident that the quieter Prima engine, together with the earlier revisions such as the 75inin higher roofline and optional air suspension, will boost Sherpa sales — which could result in the luxury of being able to decline volume orders that call for huge discounts, such as the British Telecom contract recently won by Ford's ubiquitous Transit van.
Despite losing some 900 van sales earlier this year through industrial disputes, FR expects to end 1988 with 17,000 van registrations — a slight rise over 1987 — and next year it plans to double the 3,500 Dafbadged Sherpas sold this year in Europe.
Out of the 2100 million which Daf BV plans to invest in the UK manufacturing base over the next five years, the first 21.0 million will be spent in refurbishing the Common Lane, Birmingham plant. This will allow FR to expand its single-shift production output from 436 vans a week to 500.