Volvo Cars has a long reputation as a maker of inline (or straight) engines. This list of Volvo engines gives an overview of available internal combustion engines.
When Volvo started in 1927, they ordered their engines from the engine manufacturer Penta in Skövde. The first engine was the inline four-cylinder side valve 28 hp (21 kW) Type DA. In 1931, Volvo acquired a majority of the Penta stock, and in 1935, Penta became a subsidiary of Volvo. For the engines used by Volvo Trucks, see List of Volvo Trucks engines.
Previous owner, Ford Motor Company, allowed Volvo to continue to design their own engines, with a new-generation straight-six engine introduced in 2006. More recently the VEA program has been launched. VEA engines are branded as "Drive-E" in marketing. In 2017, Volvo Cars announced they will no longer develop diesel engines.
Naming
To name their engines, Volvo has used:
1955–1985 — four or five characters
1985–1994 — five or six characters
1993–1994 — six to eight characters
Generally, the following naming scheme is used:
Either B for Bensin (petrol/gasoline engines) or D for diesel engines
Two digits for engine displacement (moved after number of cylinders from 1993)
One for valves per cylinder (not found before 1985)
One to three characters for other engine features
In 2010 Volvo changed their engine branding nomenclature so that it is independent of engine size and number of cylinders. The letter "D" designates diesel and "T" petrol. Letters are followed by a number that dictate the level of power. The table below list the lower limit power required for each emblem in 2010.
Engines in production
Petrol
GEP3
The Global Engine Petrol 3 is a three-cylinder engine jointly developed by Volvo and Geely based on the Volvo Engine Architecture. It is marketed under the Drive-E and G-power names.
VEP4
The Volvo Engine Petrol 4 is a four-cylinder engine with 1.5L or 2.0L displacement. It is used by Volvo, Lynk&Co and Geely marque vehicles.
T2 122 PS (90 kW) single turbo. From MY2016
T3 152 PS (112 kW) single turbo. From MY2016
T4 190 PS (140 kW) single turbo. From MY2016
T5 245 PS (180 kW) single turbo. From MY2016
T6 320 PS (235 kW) turbo and supercharger. From MY2016
Polestar 367 PS (270 kW) turbo and supercharger. From MY2017
T8 320 PS (235 kW) turbo, supercharger, and rear electric motor developing 87 PS (64 kW). From MY2016
Diesel
VED4
The Volvo Engine Diesel 4 is a four-cylinder engine with 2.0L displacement. It is used by Volvo in certain markets and is the final family of Volvo Cars diesel engines after they announced in 2017 that they would no longer develop diesel engines. Most possible reason of that is a damaged overall reputation of diesel engines for passenger cars after 2015 Volkswagen Group emissions scandal.
D2 120 PS (88 kW) single-turbo. From MY2016
181 PS (133 kW). In the following vehicles: S60/V60, XC60, S80/V70 & XC70/90.
190 PS (140 kW). In the following vehicles: V40/V40 Cross Country.
Engines out of production
Side-valve six
Volvo's first six-cylinder engine was introduced in 1929. It was a side-valve straight-six engine.
1929–1958 side-valve six — PV651/2, TR671/4, PV653/4, TR676/9, PV658/9, PV36, PV51/2, PV53/6, PV801/2, PV821/2, PV831/2 and PV60
B4B
Volvo's next major advance was the B4B line of compact inline-four engines introduced in 1944.
1944–1956 B4B — 1.4 L (1,414 cc) — fitted into the Volvo PV and Volvo Duett
1957–1962 B16A and B16B — 1.6 L (1,583 cc) — enlarged B14A fitted into the PV, Duett and Volvo Amazon
B18
The B18 of 1960 was the company's next major advance, with five main bearings.
1962–1974 B18 — 1.8 L (1,778 cc) — new-design 1.8 & 2.0 litres overhead valve (OHV) 8v fitted into all Volvo models from 1961 to 1974 (except the 164) and 1975 U.S.-spec 240 models
B18C - single carburetor version - fitted in the Volvo BM 320 tractor
B18A - single carburetor version
B18D - twin SU Carburettor version
B18B - twin SU or Zenith carburetor version
1969–1981 B20 — 2.0 L (1,986 cc) — evolution of the B18
B30
The B30 was Volvo's second line of straight-six engines, introduced in 1968.
1968–1975 B30 — 3.0 L (2,979 cc) — fitted to all 164 models, as well as the Volvo C303
B30A - twin Zenith Stromberg carburetor version
B30E - fuel injected version
V6
Volvo introduced the PRV engine, its only V6 engine, in 1974. The PRV was available in 2.7 and 2.8 L configurations, with SOHC cylinder heads. The PRV was developed together with Renault and Peugeot; thus the acronym name PRV.
1990s–2000 D5252T — 2.5 L (2,461 cc) Audi Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) inline five-cylinder SOHC, 103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp) — Volvo 850, Volvo S70/Volvo V70, early Volvo S80s
Volvo V8
Volvo B36, used in trucks
Modular
Volvo began a line of modular engines in 1990, with straight-four, straight-five, and straight-six variants. In 2016 the last Volvo Modular engine was produced.
1993–2002 B52xx — 2.0 L (1,984 cc) /2.3 L (2,319 cc) / 2.4 L (2,435 cc) / 2.5 L (2,521 cc) DOHC
This engine was designed by Volvo in Sweden but is built in Wales, at Ford's Bridgend Engine Plant
Volvo B6324S Short I6 — 3.2 L (195 cu in)
Volvo B6304T2 Short I6 — 3.0 L (183 cu in) Turbo
VED5, Volvo Engine Diesel 5
140 kW (190 PS; 188 hp), 420 N⋅m (310 lb⋅ft), 2.4 liter. In the following vehicles: AWD V60/XC60.
162 kW (220 PS; 217 hp), 440 N⋅m (325 lb⋅ft), 2.4 liter. In the following vehicle: AWD XC60.
Volvo-Yamaha V8
This V8 engine is designed by Volvo Cars and Yamaha Motor of Japan. The engine is built by Yamaha in Japan, and other parts of the engine are added at Volvo Cars engine unit in Skövde, Sweden.
Volvo B8444S Volvo/Yamaha V8
References
"Chronology of Volvo Engine Development". Volvo Books. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2006.