Due to the large contribution of the coldstart process to unburned hydrocarbon emissions of an internal combustion engine during FTP cycle tests, we take a new look at the production of hydrocarbons inside the combustion chamber during coldstart. To this end a model is developed which predicts the exhaust port hydrocarbon concentration, exhaust gas temperature and equivalence ratio based on a simplified, control-oriented heat release analysis of the cylinder pressure. Non-linear control algorithms are used to regulate the engine to a pre-defined exhaust profile, based on optimized catalyst-out hydrocarbon emissions. This approach is intended to make use of robust, automotive-grade exhaust hydrocarbon sensors currently in development.