With a premium placed on efficiency these days, and the ever expanding options with hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and full on electric cars, you'd think the humble, over a century old internal combustion engine (ICE) would be headed for the scrap heap. It's demise, however, has been predicted over and over again but it keeps evolving and soldiering on proving the critics wrong.

Automakers have demonstrated time and again that the ICE has long legs indeed squeezing out more power and efficiency from ever smaller engines. Mazda has managed to bring diesel like efficiency to it SkyActiv-X engine with compression ignition, and following suit is the radical Nissan/Infiniti Variable Compression engine already out in the QX50 and slated for release in the 2020 Nissan Altima.

The VC Engine

First appearing in the 2019 Infiniti QX50, the 2.0 liter VC-Turbo engine was named a 2019 Ward's 10 Best Engines Award winner. The technology works on the principle of altering the compression of an engine for both maximum power output and efficiency throughout the rpm range.

More Details

How it does this is through a mechanical linkage on the bottom end of the motor which alters the compression ratio. It makes for a very complicated bottom end with actuators, camshafts, and solenoids with a rotating lever arm attached to the crankshaft. At higher loads, bottom end geometry is altered to raise the compression ratio making maximum power, while for steady cruising it's lowered for greater efficiency.

When, Where, And In What

After the QX50, Nissan will be putting the VC-Turbo engine in the 2020 Altima. Keep an eye peeled on dealer lots and check back for details. Buckle up.

Source: Nissan