In less than a few months, the German company FEV proposed an engine based on the Audi unit, in which the crankshaft could move up and down. The results in both cases were encouraging. The 1.6-liter SAAB engine developed a torque of 305 N.m and a power of 168 kW while reducing fuel consumption by 30%! The German 1.8-liter engine produced indicators typical of a 3-liter engine with a 27% decrease in gasoline consumption. These engines were built and installed under the hoods, but … did not become serial.
The breakthrough is promised by the French company MCE-5 Development, which has developed a VCR (Variable Compression Ratio) engine for the Peugeot-Citroen concern, which claims to be a "mass-produced" engine. Changes in the degree of compression were achieved due to the sophisticated kinematics of the crank mechanism. Work on the new engine has been conducted since 1997, and now, as they say, it is almost complete.