Volvo's New 450bhp 2.0-Litre Concept Engine Could Be The Most Powerful Four-Pot Ever

Volvo has released details of its new ‘High Performance Drive-E Powertrain Concept,’ a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder concept engine that produces an astonishing power output of 450bhp (225bhp per litre).

The groundbreaking figure for a 2.0-litre engine has been achieved thanks to two parallel turbochargers that are backed up by one electrically-powered turbo-compressor. The job of the electric turbo is to feed air directly into the conventional turbos rather than sending it to the cylinders; this effectively eliminates the lag associated with heavily turbocharged engines.

Fuel is sent to the cylinders at a pressure of 250 bar via a high-tech fuel pump, and while currently in its concept stage, the engine shows that Volvo could have a brutally fast new model up its sleeve, most likely in Polestar guise.

Should the 450bhp Volvo concept engine be fitted underneath the bonnet of a forthcoming production Volvo, this would make the Swedish brand’s car the most powerful model with a 2.0-litre engine. It would dwarf the Mercedes A45 AMG’s 360bhp figure by a considerable margin, and even beats the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ-440 MR special edition’s 440bhp output.

If Volvo can pull this off and make this incredible engine a production reality, then we’ll all have yet another reason to love the brand even more than we do already.