Click the photo to enlarge

Fiat will debut a new concept version of their Panda mini-car at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week dubbed the Panda Aria. Although the Aria looks much like any standard Panda on the outside, it has been heavily modified to minimize fuel use and emissions. At the corners, the car is equipped with experimental Pirelli tires that keep rolling resistance down while still offering good grip for steering and braking.

Total vehicle and weight is cut but using a new two-cylinder turbocharged engine that follows the current trend toward smaller displacement boosted engines and is twenty percent lighter and takes up twenty-five percent less space than a similarly powerful four cylinder. The 900cc SGE twin puts out 105 hp in turbo form using gasoline and Fiat's new Multiair electronic valve control system. A 65hp normally aspirated version is also being developed.

The Multiair system has no throttle which is always an efficiency drain in engines, but instead uses an electro-hydraulic system to actuate the valves. The system can provide full control over valve lift and timing. The SGE two cylinder also has a special crankshaft balancing system to ensure smooth running and is expected to go into production later in the decade. The version shown in the concept is equipped with a dual-fuel system that can operate on gasoline or a 70/30 methane-hydrogen mix.

[Source: ItaliaSpeed, thanks to Demetrio for the tip]