Fuel-stratified injection from VW

Though gasoline direct-injection technology is being introduced in the Lupo FSI, VW says it easily can be adapted for high-volume use in larger vehicles such as the Polo and Golf.

In November Volkswagen announced that it is installing its first gasoline direct-injection powerplant in two versions of its small Lupo, dubbed FSI (fuel-stratified injection). The innovative features of the powerplant are said to account for potential fuel savings of up to 15%. In the standard Lupo body, the FSI is paired with a five-speed manual gearbox and consumes 5.6 L/100 km. In the lightweight bodyshell of the 3 L/100 km Lupo 3L, in conjunction with an automated direct-shift manual gearbox, consumption is further reduced to 4.9 L/100 km. Corresponding CO₂ emissions are 134 and 119 g/km, respectively.

The Lupo FSI project involved 18 months of predevelopment and 30 months of development before reaching production, and about 110 patents were issued to VW for its design. All told, 250 prototypes were built, 450 engines were either installed in vehicles or lab-tested, and vehicles were evaluated over 12 million km (7.5 million mi).