Chinese carmaker Qoros has joined Koenigsegg in demonstrating a camless engine. Rather than using a traditional camshaft to control an engine's valves, the QamFree motor uses electro-hydraulic-pneumatic actuators to provide precise control over each valve for more power and a 12 to 17 percent improvement in fuel economy.
In most engines the camshaft's rotating lobes push rockers that open the valves and allow valve springs to shut them. Unfortunately, this process involves a stage where the valves are partially open or shut, which means the system isn't always operating at ideal efficiency.
Rather than continuing to use this technology, which Koenigsegg likens to "playing a piano with a both hands tied to the opposite ends of a broomstick," the QamFree engine allows far greater control over the engine's intake and exhaust valves thanks to electro-hydraulic-pneumatic actuators.
The engine has been developed in conjunction with FreeValve AB, one of Koenigsegg's sister companies. According to FreeValve, the technology reduces fuel consumption by 12 to 17 percent when compared to a modern, direct injection engine with variable cams.
Qoros also says the QamFree engine allows the company to eke more power from a more compact package, which should mean punchy performance from engines that meet the ever-tightening Euro and Beijing emissions standards.
Unfortunately, there's no mention of a release or production date for the engine, although Qoros does loosely suggest we might see it in future models. Currently, the engine remains a concept.
Freevalve's video about the technology is below.
Sources: Qoros, Koenigsegg, Freevalve
