Does the Chevrolet Spin 2025 have the same engine as the Monza? Understand the origin of 1.8 | Fun facts about cars

New Chevrolet Spin with motor Monza. It will be? All it took was the debut of the 2025 minivan line from Chevroletwhich kept the veteran 1.8 SPE/4 aspirated engine as the only option in the portfolio, to bring up an old myth: that the eight-valve engine used by the minivan is the same as the old and dearly missed Monza.

The decision certainly didn’t please many people, who expected a turbo engine from the Onix or Tracker family. With the maintenance of the 111 hp 1.8 flex, comments appeared en masse stating that this 1.8 is the same set that equipped the Monza, back in the 80s. But that’s not the truth.

The engines are from different families. In the history of General Motors, both debuted “at the same time” in 1979. However, they are sets with different proposals. While the Spin brings a more compact engine derived from the Family 1, the Monza, as well as other models of the brand, such as the Kadettwas equipped with one of the engine options from the so-called Family 2. But don’t worry, we’ll explain the differences to you.

Family 1 vs Family 2

GM’s Family 2 engine, which effectively equipped the Monza, debuted in 1979 and arrived to take the place of the old engines from GM. Opel. This is the case, for example, of the CIH, which gave rise to the OHC – the engine that equipped the Chevrolet. The sets of this family were even larger in displacement and heavier compared to Family 1.

Initially, Family 2 offered a single option: the 1.6 engine with 72 hp and 12.6 kgfm of torque with gasoline. This, however, was soon replaced by the 1.8 carburetor with 86 hp maximum.

Engines from GM’s second family were on sale on the market from 1979 to 2012. In other words, they lasted more than 30 years. Furthermore, there have been several versions throughout history, such as the 2.0 and 2.2 EFI, as well as the 2.4 Flexpower, and 8V and 16V variations. The last car to use a Family 2 engine in Brazil, officially, was the Zafirain 2012, with a 2.0 8V Flexpower with up to 140 hp.

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And the Spin engine?

Family 1, although it was developed together with Family 2 and even shares part of the project, actually debuted in Brazil only in 1994, in the 1.0 and 1.4 8-valve variants, with the Race first generation national.

Already the variant 1.8, the one that effectively equips the Spin, debuted in 2002 with the second national generation of the Corsa (the third global or Corsa C), and was then applied to the first generation Montana and the Meriva minivan. The production of this entire line of engines took place in Joinville (SC).

GM even sold this engine to Fiat. Thus, he also equipped models from the Italian brand, such as Canopy, Siena, road, Idea It is Punto.

In 2006, Family 1 engines received improvements and were renamed Econoflex. When Spin was launched in Brazil in 2012, it was equipped precisely with 1.8 Econoflex 8V flex. And, in 2016, the engine was updated and was renamed SPE/4. Which was nothing more than an evolution of Econoflex itself.

The SPE/4 uses the same four-cylinder base with eight valves and simple overhead control, but with electronic changes to make it more efficient. At the time, Spin even added an active grille, to make it more economical and with more efficient aerodynamics.

At the end of 2021, to meet Proconve L7 emissions standards, which would come into force the following year, Spin incorporated other updates, such as engine and gearbox recalibrations, new catalyst, new multi-layer fuel tank, filters to reduce emissions evaporators and heated injection nozzles in place of the cold starting tank.

According to Chevrolet, the current set received new updates for the 2025 Spin line, with more efficient electronic data processing. Therefore, it started using the same module that equips the Tracker, for example. In total, there are 18 modules. And the minivan now has two control lines, instead of one.

More economical, same performance

Thanks to the changes, Spin’s veteran 1.8 engine became up to 11% more efficient in emissions and economical. Compared to the 2012 model, the minivan had a gain of 101 km in autonomy. In other words, with the same 53-liter tank, since GM did not change the capacity, the minivan can run longer between refueling.

At the same time, throughout all these years, power and torque figures have been maintained at 111 hp and 17.7 kgfm, respectively. According to Chevrolet, with the new adjustments, the veteran 1.8 aspirated unit of the Spin 2025 fits the requirements of the Proconve L8. The new phase of the program comes into effect in 2025 and brings a more demanding evaluation in the engine licensing processes.

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