[April 26, 2016] At the 2016 Beijing International Auto Show, Qoros Auto will not only show its pioneering NEV (New Electric Vehicle) car, but also reveal the technical cooperation with Christian von Koenigsegg, the founding father of “Ghost Sports Car”. Through this cooperation, it will provide the industry and consumers with revolutionary engine technology - QamFree engine.
Supported by patent technology from FreeValve under Christian von Koenigsegg and Urban Carlson, QamFree engine is a revolution to the traditional ICE (Internal Combustion Engine). It achieves independent control of every engine valve through its Pneumatic-Hydraulic-Electric-Actuator (PHEA), and replaces traditional camshaft-control engine valves, giving more freedom to the engine design and combustion development. Compared with traditional camshaft engines, the QamFree engine can achieve stronger power output, lower fuel consumption, lower emissions, and a more compact engine size for a given displacement.
For the past century in automobile development, the technical innovation of engines has boomed and diversified. As an important component of the engine, the overhead camshaft controls the opening and closing of both the intake valves and exhaust valves to find the best compromise for the combustion.
As we all know, most engine cylinders have only one intake valve and exhaust valve at the beginning. With the improvement of the engine’s rotating speed, the two traditional engine valves were insufficient, which hindered the improvement of the engine’s overall performance. Under the circumstances, multiple-engine-valve technology was born. And later, variable valve timing and variable valve lift of engine valve under usage of very complex mechanical technology emerged to maximize the engine’s efficiency under different rotating speeds. Furthermore, the unified control has always been made by two pieces of the camshaft, and the adjustable scope of every valve has always been limited.
The idea of controlling the engine valves with an actuator rather than camshaft has existed for decades. However, the birth of PHEA technology innovated by FreeValve made the concept become a reality.
In short, in the QamFree engine, the traditional overhead camshaft valve control technology is replaced by PHEA, achieving the independent control of every valve. This also means that the intake and exhaust of every combustion cylinder can be more effectively and precisely controlled, which gives more freedom to the engine design and combustion development. Under different operating condition demands of the engine, both the timing and lift of intake valve and exhaust valve can be independently programmed and controlled, which guarantees best combustion under each condition.
The mode of the traditional camshaft valve control can be given the analogy of a piano player who plays the keys all together. However, when the piano player can play the keys with his fingers independently, it enables more precision to the artist. This is the engine valve control finesse that QamFree brings to the conventional engines.
Compared with traditional engines with crankshaft-driven valve, the QamFree engine will bring remarkable benefits:
Koenigsegg Automotive AB enjoys great popularity in the world’s supercar industry. Its “Ghost Sports Cars” have broken the Guinness World Record four times for its outstanding power performance (production car speed records, lap record of "Top Gear" track, 0-300-0 km/h time). As the sister company of Koenigsegg Automotive AB, FreeValve, under the leadership of Urban Carlson, has been consistently seeking breakthroughs, and devoted itself to developing and carrying out revolutionary technical and component solutions, adding vitality to the development of auto products through innovation.
As a distinctive, vibrant, and innovation-and-growth-oriented auto enterprise, Qoros Auto has had a world-class capability in design, vehicle integration and manufacturing since its founding. The company never ceases to innovate and explore new business models, technology development and customer experience. Following the creation of FreeValve, Qoros was acutely aware of its vital technical innovation for enabling future mobility. Being on top of their game in terms of their own technological expertise, as well as owning a similar philosophy of persistence in innovation and daring to be different, Qoros Auto and FreeValve decided to work together. Qoros Auto introduced the technology of FreeValve on the basis of its strong R&D ability and named the technology "QamFree engine". A concept car, which houses the QamFree engine, has been built and displayed at the Qoros booth to demonstrate the advantages of space ergonomics and aerodynamics of the advanced QamFree engine. The concept car is designed by an international team and shows a hint of the future development of Qoros Design DNA, which connects to the modern explorers. Qoros' world-class manufacturing processes bring unprecedented new technology to its future products that will help fulfill the company’s promise to consumers—building the most refined products with world-class technology and quality standards.
