The new Nissan Infiniti QX50 SUV will be unveiled in only a few days, and with it is coming a new kind of combustion engine technology.

The QX50 will be premiering on November 28 at a media event in Los Angeles. This vehicle will be the first implementation of a variable compression ratio system. This will give the engine a thermal efficiency as high as 40 percent.

This new turbo-charged, 2-liter, four-cylinder engine is being called the VC-Turbo for marketing reasons, and it uses electronics and computations to constantly adjust itself for the optimal compression ratio. This way you don't have to choose between power and fuel efficiency in an engine. It is comparable in power to a 3.5-liter V6 engine while being 30 to 35 percent more fuel efficient.

There are claims that the VC-Turbo engine will cost thousands less than that of a hybrid car engine of equal power, though official numbers have not been provided. Either way, this is a great demonstration that there remains to be a great deal to build and improve in the world of combustion engines. While electric cars are the next big thing, combustion isn't dead just yet.