Next-gen Mazda BT-50 could become twin-turbo, electrically supercharged diesel powerhouse

[Wretched]

HOLD on to your hardhats, because Mazda looks set to jam not one, not two, but three compressors under the lid of its workhorse ute.
A patent lodged by Mazda has potentially let slip the automaker’s intentions for its next-generation BT-50, revealing a sophisticated twin-turbo, electrically-supercharged engine is in the Japanese brand’s future powertrain pipeline.



The patent, lodged with the US Patent and Trademark Office, doesn’t explicitly name the BT-50 but describes the engine in surprising detail.
While many technology patents are deliberately vague, this one not only specifies that the engine is a diesel-fuelled four cylinder and equipped with two turbos and an electric supercharger, but that it’s mounted longitudinally as well.


And there’s only one diesel-engined non-truck in Mazda’s product portfolio that mounts its engine in a north-south orientation – the BT-50. Given the specifics mentioned, it’s highly unlikely that this engine is destined for anything else.

Twin-turbo diesel utes certainly aren’t a new thing in the light commercial space, with the Volkswagen Amarok and Nissan Navara already sporting inline-four turbo diesels with two huffers bolted to the side.
However Mazda’s strategy of adding an electrically-driven supercharger to the mix goes a step further in improving diesel driveability.

The patent details that the electric supercharger serves to generate boost when the first and second turbochargers – which rely on exhaust gas flow to spool up – aren’t spinning fast enough, such as when driving at low rpm.
It’s a similar ‘torque fill’ strategy as employed by the Audi SQ7’s diesel V8, which also teams an electric supercharger with a pair of conventional turbos.
At higher rpm a set of bypass valves take the electric supercharger out of play, with the twin turbos providing full boost. A liquid-to-air intercooler then chills the charge before it’s combusted by the engine, with exhaust gas then flowing through both turbochargers and a sizable diesel particulate filter.
When we’ll see it in a Mazda vehicle remains to be seen. The next-generation BT-50 is due to supersede the current model in 2019, and will no longer share its ladder-framed bones with the Ford Ranger and instead move to the new Isuzu D-Max’s platform. Whether this clever triple-compressor diesel will arrive at the same time has yet to be confirmed.

https://www.wheelsmag.com.au/news/17...-powerhouse-(1)

[Vesper Martini]

So its an anti Lag sytem

[Crazy Dazz]

Just what diesels need, more complexity and things to go wrong.

[rjk74]

They concentrate on building a Ute that looks good first.

[GASWAGON]

Bit of overkill is'nt it.

Surely twin turbo's provide enough boost without the need of a charger aswell.

Pick one or the other but not both.

[happy1]

Hi,
A thread from a while ago...
Now that Ranger has got the twin turbo, wonder if this patent by Mazda would be for the next generation of both of them, or are Ford and Mazda going separate ways?

Cheers,

[Sprintey]

Engine complexity: what could possibly go wrong

Brought to you by Australian Fuel Quality

[ozrunner]

And inline with todays way of thinking it will probably be a massive 1.2L

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by happy1

Hi,
A thread from a while ago...
Now that Ranger has got the twin turbo, wonder if this patent by Mazda would be for the next generation of both of them, or are Ford and Mazda going separate ways?

Cheers,

I think Mazda is now in bed with Isuzu and Ford are with VW......

[jpd80]

Order now and we'll throw in an extra two turbos and a free set of steak knives...

Gotta love Japanese answering a question that no buyers are asking,
the complexity of three potential in-service fail points.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

I think Mazda is now in bed with Isuzu and Ford are with VW......

yep 2020 will give us a new D-Max & BT50 & less agricultural MUX.

not a lot of info though

[happy1]

Electrical supercharger has been on Audi models for some time now.
It uses a lot of power and I believe it is best suited with a 48V system.
Some other manufacturers are having problem with poor charging and cooling fans after stop, draining out the battery. For example BMW now replaces the battery on the models with the V8 twin turbo at each service.

It's new technology but not totally trouble free. The electric supercharger itself is probably as reliable as an exhaust gas turbocharger.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

I think Mazda is now in bed with Isuzu and Ford are with VW......

Mazda has been in bed with Isuzu for quite some time in the truck division.

6th gen, Mazda Titan is an Isuzu NPR