[Bartek Sikorski]

Volkswagen already produces some of the most advanced and efficient engines on the market today, but as always, there's room for improvement. That's why VW engineers are hard at work developing a new range of diesel and gasoline powerplants that will combine the benefits of both types of engines to increase power and cut CO2 emissions.

In a recent presentation, VW showed off two new designs that promise higher fuel economy and lower emissions. The first of these is a diesel engine that mixes fuel and air 'homogeneously' inside the engine, which in effect removes any trace of soot and reduces polluting nitrogen oxides.

For petrol heads, VW has created an engine that works by using spark plugs for ignition during start-up and hard acceleration, but can then switch to sparkless compression ignition, like a diesel, during low load situations. The end result is diesel-like efficiency but with cleaner exhaust properties of gasoline engines.

As for dwindling oil stocks, VW has also looked at solving that problem too. In the works is a new synthetic fuel derived from natural gas, but don't get too excited, its makers claim we're still at least a decade a way from the roll out of the new technology.
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