GM is Using a Classic Name in Engine Technology

The Pontiac name is one that was deleted from the GM lineup in 2009 but it appears one part of the Pontiac brand, TriPower, will make its way back to the GM fold in 2019.
The power under the hood of some of the performance cars in the 1960s and 1950s from Pontiac bore the name TriPower on them and now this name will once again be used by GM. The TriPower you saw in the early days is certainly much different from what you’ll see in the trucks offered in 2019.

The Original Pontiac TriPower

In the early days of performance and fun, specifically 1957, Pontiac launched a new engine layout that offered three different carburetors to handle the air and fuel flow into the engine. The typical layouts used either a two or four-barrel setup, but the TriPower option was considered the new hot option and it used three two-barrel carbs for the job. This means you have six barrels to handle the load and bring the fuel and air into the engine the way you wanted. This allowed the engine to run well at a variety of levels.
In a typical engine with a carburetor, the carb is set up to run well at low load or low throttle, but not both. The openings can’t accurately meter the fuel and air which means the engine could be gulping down greater amounts of either if set up at a typical level. Using the TriPower method, which offered three two-barrel carbs and a complex linkage to connect them, both low load and low throttle can be handled. Normal highway cruising used on the center carb but when higher performance was needed, the outer two carbs were called into action to give the car more power.

The TriPower We’ll See in 2019

The fact is, we don’t have carburetors in engines any longer. That doesn’t stop GM from offering the TriPower name for the new 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that we’re going to see in Chevrolet trucks like the Silverado, and in the GMC Sierra. The TriPower name is being used to signify this engine will have three ways it can help you. There’s cylinder deactivation which allows the truck to run on two cylinders when appropriate, active thermal management that can increase or decrease the temperatures in parts of the engine to keep it running at its most efficient, and a variable intake lift that changes how long the intake valve stays open at certain engine speeds to improve the fuel mileage.

Will This be the Engine for You?

If you’re looking for the right engine for the drive you need to make in your pickup truck, this new four-cylinder could be the right one for you. You’ll certainly see the TriPower name plastered somewhere on the engine or on the body of the trucks offered, which could bring thoughts of those early Pontiac engines back to your mind when you take one of these GM truck out for a drive.