Ford is launching a revolutionary three-cylinder engine designed to lower the fuel consumption while retaining great performance. The new 1.0 litre EcoBoost petrol unit will make its debut in the Ford B-MAX being previewed at Frankfurt in September.

The engine is the smallest capacity engine Ford has made and will have less than 120bhp, but Ford claims it will deliver the same performance as a four-cylinder engine. Even better, it will have high fuel economy and lower emissions.

The engine was developed at the Dunton Technical Centre in the UK and features Ford’s latest EcoBoost technology – namely direct injection, variable camshaft timing and turbocharging. It also has a cutting-edge split cooling system, which warms the cylinder block before the cylinder head, meaning fuel is saved, especially in winter.

Joe Bakaj, vice president of Global Powertrain Engineering at Ford said, “No one has ever built a three-cylinder engine quite like this. It’s one of the most technically advanced and efficient engines we’ve ever designed”. He added that the new technologies ‘could be part of the DNA of future Ford engines.'

The Ford B-MAX is due to go on sale next year, with the engine also set to make appearances in some of Ford’s other small cars.