List of French Formula One engine manufacturers

Last updated June 18, 2024

Nine French Formula One engine manufacturers have produced engines either for their own cars or those of other Formula One constructors. Bugatti, Gordini, Matra, Peugeot, Renault and Talbot have designed and produced engines. Renault engines are associated with 12 World Constructors' Championship titles and 11 World Drivers' Championship titles.

Alphabetical list of French Formula One engine manufacturers

Bugatti

Molsheim-based Bugatti, which competed in Grand Prix racing before the Second World War, created a Formula One engine for its T251. It was designed by Gioacchino Colombo and took part in only one race in 1956.^[1]

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
T2.5 L8	I8	2.5	Naturally-aspirated	230 hp @ 8000 rpm	1956

CTA-Arsenal

CTA designed an engine for its racing car in 1946. Designed by Albert Lory and manufactured in Châtillon-sous-Bagneux, it only competed in two races, in 1947 and 1949. The project was abandoned before the creation of the Drivers' World Championship in 1950.^[2]

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
-	V8	1.5	Supercharged (two-stage)	275 hp @ 8000 rpm	1946

Gordini

Amédée Gordini has designed several F1 engines for French automobile manufacturer Simca and for his own company. Simca took part in 14 Grands Prix, from 1951 to 1953, and Gordini took part in 33, from 1952 to 1956.^[3]

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
T15C	I4	1.5	-	195 hp @ 6500 rpm	1950
T20	I6	2.0		160 hp @ 7000 rpm	1952
T23	I6	2.5		228 hp @ 6500 rpm	1954
T25	I8	2.5		260 hp @ 7500 rpm	1955

Matra Sports

Matra Sports supplied V12 engines to Formula One Matra from 1968 to 1972, Shadow in 1975, and Ligier from 1976 to 1978 and 1981 and 1982.^[4] These engines were designed by Georges Martin.

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
MS09	V12	3.0	Naturally-aspirated	395 hp @ 10500 rpm	1968
MS12				485 hp @ 11400 rpm	1970
MS71				440 hp @ 11000 rpm	1971
MS72				485 hp @ 11800 rpm	1972
MS73				490 hp @ 11500 rpm	1975
MS76				520 hp @ 12300 rpm	1977
MS78				520 hp @ 12300 rpm	1978
MS81				520 hp @ 12300 rpm	1981

Mecachrome

Mecachrome manufactured engines designed by Renault (RS9) from 1998 to 2000. They were rebadged as Playlife for Benetton, and rebadged as Supertec for Williams and BAR.^[5]

GC3701-RS09 (1998): V10, 3.0 L, 775 hp @ 17,000 rpm.

Peugeot

Peugeot Sport supplied V10 engines to a few Formula One teams: McLaren in 1994, Jordan from 1995 to 1997, and Prost from 1998 to 2000.^[6]

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
A4	V10	3.5	Naturally-aspirated	700 hp @ 14,250 rpm	1994
A6		3.5		760 hp @ 14,500 rpm	1994
A10		3.0		760 hp @ 15,500 rpm	1995
A12				720 hp @ 16,000 rpm	1996
A14				750 hp @ 16,000 rpm	1997
A16				765 hp @ 17,000 rpm	1998
A18				785 hp @ 17,000 rpm	1999
A20				800 hp @ 17,500 rpm^[7]	2000

Renault

Renault engines equipped Renault's F1 cars from 1977 to 1985, from 2002 to 2011, and 2016 to the present day.

They have also supplied other teams:^[8]

Team Lotus (1983–1986)
Équipe Ligier (1984–1986, 1990, 1992–1994)
Tyrrell Racing (1985–1986)
Williams Grand Prix Engineering (1990–1997,^[9] 2012–2013)
Benetton Formula (1995–1997,^[9] 2001)
Red Bull Racing (2007–2015)
Caterham F1 (2011–2014)
Lotus F1 (2012–2014)
Scuderia Toro Rosso (2014–2015, 2017)
McLaren F1 Team (2018-2020)
Alpine F1 Team (2021)

Turbocharged V6 engines

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
EF1	V6	1.5	Turbocharged	510 hp @ 11000 rpm	1977
EF1				650 hp @ 12000 rpm	1983
EF4				750 hp @ 11500 rpm	1984
EF4B				760 hp @ 11500 rpm	1984
EF15				810 hp @ 11500 rpm	1985
EF15B				900 hp @ 12500 rpm	1986

Naturally-aspirated V10 engines

Engine name	Bank angle (°)	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year	Wins
RS1	67	V10	3.5	Naturally-aspirated	650 hp @ 12,500 rpm	1989	N/A
RS2					660 hp @ 12,800 rpm	1990
RS3					700 hp @ 12,500 rpm	1991
RS4					750 hp @ 13,000 rpm	1992	Nigel Mansell (World Drivers' Championship) Williams-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS5					760-780 hp @ 13,800 rpm	1993	Alain Prost (World Drivers' Championship) Williams-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS6/RS6B/RS6C					790-830 hp @ 14,300 rpm	1994	Williams-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS7			3.0		675-700 hp @ 15,200-15,600 rpm	1995	Michael Schumacher (World Drivers' Championship) Benetton-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS8					700-760 hp @ 14,500-16,000 rpm^[10]	1996	Damon Hill (World Drivers' Championship) Williams-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS9	71				730-760 hp @ 14,600-16,000 rpm^[11]	1997	Jacques Villeneuve (World Drivers' Championship) Williams-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS21	112				780 hp @ 17,400 rpm	2001	N/A
RS22					825 hp @ 17,500 rpm^[11]	2002
RS23					830 hp @ 18,000 rpm^[12]	2003
RS24	72				880-900 hp @ 19,000 rpm	2004
RS25	72				900+ hp @ 19,000 rpm	2005	Fernando Alonso (World Drivers' Championship) Renault (World Constructors' Championship)

Naturally-aspirated V8 engines

Engine name	Bank angle (°)	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year	Wins
RS26	90	V8	2.4	Naturally-aspirated	775-800 hp @ 20500 rpm^[11]	2006	Fernando Alonso (World Drivers' Championship) Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
RS27					770 hp @ 19000 rpm	2007	N/A
					>770 hp @ 19000 rpm	2008
					>750 hp @ 18000 rpm^[13]	2009
					>750 hp @ 18000 rpm	2010	Sebastian Vettel (World Drivers' Championship) Red Bull-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
					>750 hp @ 18000 rpm	2011	Sebastian Vettel (World Drivers' Championship) Red Bull-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
					>750 hp @ 18000 rpm^[14]	2012	Sebastian Vettel (World Drivers' Championship) Red Bull-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)
					>750 hp @ 18000 rpm	2013	Sebastian Vettel (World Drivers' Championship) Red Bull-Renault (World Constructors' Championship)

Turbocharged V6 engines with ERS

Engine name	Bank angle (°)	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
R.E. F1	90	V6	1.6	Turbocharged	760 hp @ 10500 rpm^[15]	2014
					850 hp @ 10500 rpm	2015
					875 hp @ 10500 rpm^[16]	2016
					>900 hp @ 10500 rpm^[17]	2017
					>900 hp @ 10500 rpm	2018
					>950 hp @ 10500 rpm	2019
					>950 hp @ 10500 rpm	2020
					>950 hp @ 10500 rpm	2021

Supertec

Supertec supplied Renault-designed, Mecachrome-built 1998 season engines updated for 1999 and 2000. Founded by Flavio Briatore, the company supplied Williams, Benetton and BAR in 1999, and Benetton and Arrows in 2000, with Mecachrome engines.^[18]

Engine name	Weight	Bank angle (°)	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
FB01	121 kg	71	V10	3.0	Naturally-aspirated	780 hp @ 15800 rpm	1999
FB02	117 kg	71	V10	3.0	Naturally-aspirated	780 hp @ 15800 rpm	2000

Talbot

Talbot made two engines for Talbot-Darracq and Talbot-Lago Formula One cars.^[19]

Engine name	Configuration	Displacement (L)	Aspiration	Output	Year
700	I8	1.5	Supercharged	165 hp @ 7200 rpm	1950
23 CV	I6	4.5	-	280 hp @ 5000 rpm	1950

Related Research Articles

Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.

Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000, the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002, the team became Renault. The Benetton Formula team was chaired by Alessandro Benetton from 1988 to 1998.

Talbot is a dormant automobile marque introduced in 1902 by British-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot business during the First World War.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Formula One World Championship</span> 52nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing

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Supertec was a brand of Formula One engines supplied by Dutch company Super Performance Competition Engineering BV, managed by Flavio Briatore and Bruno Michel. Supertec engines were updated 1997 Renault RS9 units, built by Mecachrome.

Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company based in France that operates in the aerospace, motor racing, energy and defence sectors.

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The RS series is a family of naturally-aspirated Grand Prix racing engines, designed, developed and manufactured jointly by Mecachrome and Renault Sport for use in Formula One, and used by Arrows, BAR, Williams, Ligier, Lotus, Caterham, Benetton, Renault, and Red Bull, from 1989 until 2013. The engines came in both the original V10, and later V8 configurations, and engine displacement ranged from 2.4 L (150 cu in) to 3.5 L (210 cu in) over the years. Power figures varied; from 650 hp (480 kW) @ 12,500 rpm, to later over 900 hp (670 kW) @ 19,000 rpm. The 2.4-litre RS26 V8 engine, used in 2006, is one of the highest revving Formula One engines in history, at 20,500 rpm. Between 1998 and 2000, the RS9 engines were badged as Mecachrome, Supertec, and Playlife.

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