Ford To Introduce New 1.2-Litre Petrol Engine In India — The Most Powerful In Its Class

The report also states that the 1.2-litre unit will make its India debut with a new Figo-based vehicle. We expect the new vehicle to the cross variant of the Figo which was recently spotted testing on Indian roads. The new vehicle will be launched in India by the first half of 2018.

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The new 1.2-litre engine will be based on the same architecture of the 1.5-litre unit. The new unit is an aluminium, three-cylinder, twin-cam engine and shares the same block as the 1.5-litre engine. The capacity of the engine has been brought down to 1,194cc by using smaller pistons.

The newly introduced 1.5-litre engine features a balancer shaft which is said to reduce the vibrations, but the 1.2-litre unit will not feature the balancer shaft. The 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine will produce 95bhp and 115Nm of torque, the most powerful engine in its class.

The new 1.2-litre engine will also get a new transmission unit codenamed as MX65. The all-new 5-speed manual gearbox is much lighter and precise as opposed to the current gearbox. Ford might also offer the AMT version of the new transmission. To know more about the 1.5-litre engine, you can also read our first drive review of the new EcoSport.

Ford is likely to launch the Figo Cross in the coming months, and it will be based on the new Figo facelift. The cross edition of Figo will feature high ground clearance and body cladding. As per recent spy images, the Figo Cross also gets new alloy wheels.

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Ford has already introduced the 1.5-litre Dragon series petrol engine with the new EcoSport. Now, the automaker is all set to debut the 1.2-litre unit with the upcoming Figo Cross. When launched in India, the Figo cross will rival the likes of Hyundai Active i20 and Toyota Etios Cross.

Spy Image Source: Facebook