Buick Regal Turbo gets turbo direct-injected engine with E85 capability

General Motors said today that powertrain engineers have significantly upgraded the 2.0L inline 4-cylinder in the 2011 Buick Regal Turbo to be capable of running on any blend of gasoline or E85 ethanol. The Buick Regal Turbo now joins more than than 5 million flex-fuel models that GM has produced over the last 15 years and helps the Detroit automaker reach its goal of offering more than 50 percent of its production in flex-fuel models by the end of 2012.

Click here for more news on the Buick Regal.

“Since ethanol requires a richer air-fuel mixture than gasoline, flex-fuel engines need higher flow-rate injectors,” GM said in a statement. “However, a flex-fuel engine can potentially have any combination of gasoline or up to 85 percent ethanol in the tank, so a sensor in the fuel system measures the blend in real-time.”

Other changes, besides making the turbo engine flex-fuel capable, include a new precision sand cast aluminum cylinder block that provides better durability while transmitting less noise and vibration than lost foam casting used previously.

Click here for our review on the 2011 Buick Regal.

Refresher: The 2011 Buick Regal is available in two options including a 182-hp 2.4L 4-cylinder and a 220-hp 2.4L 4-cylinder turbocharged. Estimated fuel-economy for the non-turbocharged model comes in at 20/30 mpg (city/highway). The 2011 Regal will be built in Russelsheim, Germany, giving it the handling and dynamics of a premium European sport sedan. Prices start at $26,995 for the CXL trim.

Review: 2011 Buick Regal CXL:

All Photos Copyright © 2010 Omar Rana – egmCarTech.

– By: Omar Rana