Products and licensing
In 1947, the company produced the first Italian air-cooled diesel engine with direct injection.
In 1964, the company introduced entire new families of air-cooled diesel engines for fishing boats and the industrial machine markets.
1974 saw the introduction of a new series of high-speed (4,200 rpm) HR-series, pre-combustion chamber, water-cooled, turbocharged engines.
The Alfa Romeo Alfetta, produced in Arese, rolled off the line with a VM Motori engine under the bonnet in 1979, signaling VM's move to the OEM automotive market. This was Italy's first turbodiesel engine.[1] The engines still retained some maritime features, such as individual heads for each cylinder - a design which made it easier to produce different cylinder configurations.[11]
During the 1980s, British Leyland chose VM engines as the smoothest, most petrol-like units available for diesel models of their Range Rover and Rover SD1; the choice continued with the later Rover 800.
The Covini B24, T40 and C36 models all used VM Motori turbodiesel engines ranging from 4 to 6 cylinders.[12][13]
The after-cooled, electronic-combustion, "Turbotronic" engine was unveiled in 1990. It was supplied to Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and Rover.
In 1995, when OEM automotive sales accounted for 75% of income, a major deal with Chrysler saw agreements to supply engines for their Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Voyager (2.5-litre) models. VM Motori's R 428 DOHC (a 2.8-litre common rail turbodiesel) was chosen for the Jeep Liberty CRD (Cherokee). From 2005, the R 428 was used in the Chrysler Grand Voyager and made its way into the Dodge Nitro.
In 1998, VM Motori introduced the R 420, a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged unit, along with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder derivative, the R 315. Both engines featured a single overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder, and common rail direct fuel injection.[14] They were licensed to the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai.[15] The 1.5-litre was used in the second generation Hyundai Accent, the Hyundai Getz and the Hyundai Matrix.[16] These were produced and marketed between the fall of 2001 and the end of 2005.[16] The 2.0-litre was used in many Hyundai and Kia models as the only diesel variant.
In 2004, GM Daewoo licensed the 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre common rail engine designs, and built a dedicated engine plant,[17] which started production 2006. The 2.0 L diesel was used in the Daewoo Winstorm (also badged as the Chevrolet Captiva, and in the related Opel Antara), the Daewoo Lacetti (also badged as the Chevrolet Lacetti), the Daewoo Tosca (also badged as the Chevrolet Epica) and the Chevrolet Cruze.
In 2001, the 2.5-litre R 425 made its debut in the Chrysler Voyager. From 2012 to 2020, this engine, branded under the Duramax series (first as the XLD25 and later the LKH), was used in the Holden Colorado and the Thai-market Chevrolet Colorado. The TX4 London style taxicab also uses the R 425.
The company is also selling its products to off-highway applications, such as marine and defense. MTU Friedrichshafen holds the exclusive sales rights for VM Motori off-highway engines outside of Italy.
In June 2010, VM Motori started the production of the A 428, an updated successor to the R 428 for Euro 5 compliance, to power the 2011 Jeep Wrangler, 2011 Jeep Cherokee and 2012 Lancia Voyager. From 2013, it was also used in the Holden Colorado, followed by the Chevrolet Colorado in 2014 (once again branded as a Duramax).
In January 2011, VM Motori launched the A 630, a 3.0L V6 with Variable Valve Timing. By a collaboration with Fiat Powertrain Technologies, the engine featured FPT's Common Rail Multijet2 technology for improved performance, fuel economy and NVH. In 2013, the engine was redesigned to comply with Euro5+ emissions standards.
The first application of the A 630 DOHC was the 2011 Grand Cherokee. From 2014 to 2023, the same engine—rebranded as the EcoDiesel—was used in the Ram 1500, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, and Jeep Gladiator, and (in lightly tuned form) the Maserati Ghibli III. The A 630 won several awards, making Ward's 10 Best Engines list in 2014, 2015 and 2016.[18][19][20] Stellantis has sold upwards of 20 vehicles with the engine but an estimated 50,000 of them have failed. The engine has been a subject of several class action lawsuits.
