VM Motori
VM Motori S.p.A. is a
diesel engine manufacturing company in
Cento,
Italy, which is the heart of Emilia Romagna and also home to
Ferrari,
Lamborghini,
Maserati and
Ducati. Founded by two entrepreneurs, Vancini and Martelli (hence the
"VM") in
1947, the company produced the first Italian diesel engine, aircooled and with direct injection.
In
1964 the company introduced entire new families of air-cooled diesel engines for fishing boats and the industrial machine markets. VM merged with "Stabilimenti Meccanici Triestini" in Trieste in 1971, and Finmeccanica took a majority stake in the combined company. 1974 saw the introduction of a new series of high speed (4200 rpm) HR, pre-combustion chamber, water cooled, turbocharged engines. The Alfa Romeo Alfetta, produced in Arese, rolled off the line with a VM Motori engine under the hood in 1979, signaling VM's move to the OEM automotive market. In 1989 Finmeccanica restructured, selling VM Motori stake to company managers and Midland Montague in a leveraged buyout, leaving the company with its single
Cento plant.
The after-cooled, electronic-combustion, Turbotronic® engine was unveiled in 1990. It was supplied to
Alfa Romeo,
Chrysler,
Ford,
General Motors, and Rover.
Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) bought VM Motori in 1995, when OEM automotive sales accounted for 75% of income. Cherokee (#1 in SUV's) and Voyager (#1 in mini-vans) became a major customer for VM in a major deal with Chrysler. 2000 saw change again with the purchase of
DDC by
DaimlerChrysler AG. In 2003
Penske Corporation purchased a 51% stake, and today the company is co-owned by
Penske and
DaimlerChrysler (49% stake), and produces diesel engines for a variety of auto makers.
Recently,
Jeep selected VM Motori's 2.8 L
common rail turbo engine for the
Liberty CRD.
GM Daewoo has also licensed the 1.5 L and 2.0 L
common rail engine designs, and they are building a dedicated engine plant, aiming to start production in 2006.
*
List of VM Motori engines*
VM Motori*
Penske Corporation*
DaimlerChrysler*
Detroit Diesel Corporation
