Bosch Automotive A product history

38 | Supplement 2 | Journal of Bosch History
Not just a matter of horsepower
Bosch gasoline injection systems
As early as 1912, Bosch began experimenting with gasoline injection. From
1935, its safety and superior performance made it the obvious choice for aircraft
engines, which until then had generally used carburetors. Gasoline injection
was still too costly for cars, though, and the less expensive carburetors remained
the standard solution for the time being. Series production of gasoline injection
systems for motor vehicles was not possible until the 1950s, following further
progress in their development. Gasoline injection’s performance-boosting
features were a point in its favor as far as motor-racing and high-performance
sports cars were concerned. From the mid-1960s, however, its other strengths –
lower consumption and reduced emissions – counted even more. Together with
its successor models, the electronic “Jetronic” system launched by Bosch in
1967 made gasoline injection the dominant system in the market, completely
displacing the carburetor. In conjunction with electronic control, gasoline injection
in cars paved the way for the widespread installation of controlled three-way
catalytic converters, which in turn made it possible to comply with the toughest
environmental standards.
The jet from an
injection nozzle
for the Bosch
DI-Motronic
gasoline direct
injection system
(2005).
In 1912, researchers at Bosch began to
take a closer look at gasoline injection.
What they wanted to achieve was a precise
metering of fuel to stationary and vehicle
engines. By that time, the spark-ignition
engine had already become the standard
drive technology in motor vehicles. It had
long been acknowledged that the steam
drives favored around 1900 had no future
for road traffic, and diesel engines had not
progressed far enough in their development
to be an option. The experiments with
gasoline injection were not a focal point,
though, and soon lost impetus. The com-