Sofim 8140 engine

The 8140 was a diesel engine made by Sofim for cars. Originally introduced as a swirl chamber, naturally aspirated diesel it was mostly used in commercial vehicles worldwide. At the time of introduction, the 8140's overhead camshaft layout (driven by a toothed timingbelt) was unexpected in a diesel engine, which were typically overhead valve designs. Turbocharging the original engine, the design of which was finished in 1974, was impeded until 1985 due to restrictions of the original design. Heat flux issues with the aluminium head and swirl chambers were eventually overcome, but did slow down development. Before entering the market, Fiat tested the Sofim engine in its 131 model during the 1977 London-Sydney Marathon. First direct injection models also appeared in the mid-1980s. Additionally to the Fiat designation 8140 some engines got a Renault tag (S8 for indirect injection, S9 for direct injection).