Turbocity Almere
Description
There is a silent kinship between the Fiat 500 TwinAir, the BMW 320d, the McLaren MP4-12C and an industrial estate in Almere-Buiten. Any thoughts? A hint: the cars all received top marks in the Engine of the Year Awards 2011. What about Almere? That turns out to be the birthplace of their most precious engine component: the turbo.
The turbocharger is a wondrous device. Rather simple in construction, but blessed with an immense drive. Since the early 1970s, the turbo evolved from a flamboyant, rather unpredictable pressure-maker to a diligent behind-the-scenes worker, which should stand out above all for its unobtrusiveness. This versatile character illustrates the enormous potential of this engine component, which has held its own as a phenomenon for four automotive decades.
No mean feat, considering the attacks from the corner of the mechanical pressure filler (G-charger, Roots compressor) and multi-valve technology, with which the turbo has entered into a unified partnership; not so long ago, 'Turbo 16V' was the dream nameplate for high-performance sports machines.
For diesel engines, the turbo has now made itself utterly indispensable and all indications are that it will also wind the petrol engine around its finger. Some years may pass, but the day will come when a petrol engine will only be offered in turbo form. And that, of course, is due to the trend called downsizing; the turbo is the saviour of more and more car engines that had to take a loss in swept volume because of lower emission figures, but don't want to give in when it comes to performance. Ever thought there would be another measly but adequately performing twelve-hundred in a VW Jetta?
Almere is the turbocity of the Netherlands! That may take some swallowing for those who, for whatever reason, prefer to drive around the still booming but unglamorous polder town with a wide bow. Nevertheless, the presence of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Equipment Europe, call sign MEE, has made Almere world-famous among just about every European car manufacturer. Anyone who thinks the turbo of a Porsche Panamera or Cayenne comes from Stuttgart is wrong. Even a large number of very appealing models from BMW have turbochargers made not in fashionable Munich, but in Almere-Buiten. And so there are many more brands with fast and/or economical turbo models that are customers of MEE. Take just the 1.4 TSI from VW and consorts, or PSA's 2.2 HDi, which finds its way into, for example, the
Citroën C5, Peugeot 508, Ford Mondeo and Land Rover Freelander. One of MEE's largest turbochargers is destined for Renault's six-cylinder 3.0 dCi. The van market is also amply catered for, with major buyers like Ford and Iveco. And a tractor from Deutz? That too may join this list.
For more information, click on the article from Autoweek
15:00 Reception with coffee
15:30 Start of presentation: "Developments in turbocharger technologies"
16:15 Tour of the facilities
17:30 End of visit
Location
MHI Equipment Europe, Damsluisweg 2
1332 EC Almere
Organiser
Vehicle Technology
Name and contact details for information
Mark Verbakel at the e-mail address below