 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(January 2019) |
Engines used by French automaker Renault SA have historically been referenced in technical specifications along two distinct systems:
The numeric engine referencing system used until the mid-1980s was simply the chronological sequence of engine development projects. Thus, variants based on the same engine block may have unrelated numbers.
The system in use since the mid-1980s is of the format XnY-zzz where
The A engine was an all-aluminum overhead valve inline-four designed in the mid-1960s for the Renault 16 and produced in three variants:
The B family (for the Billancourt factory where it was produced, [1] also referred to as the Billancourt engine) was a cast-iron overhead valve three-bearing crankshaft inline-four designed in the mid-1940s for the 4CV and also used in the Renault 4 and Dauphine:
The new B family three cylinder petrol engine appeared from 2016. NMKV developed the BR06 engine based on this engine for Nissan and Mitsubishi Kei car
The C family (for the Cléon-Fonte factory where it was produced, also referred to as Sierra in early variants), being also a cast-iron overhead valve inline-four but now with a five-bearing crankshaft, designed in the early 1960s for the Renault 8. An extremely sturdy, low-cost design, it was continuously refined over its 35-year career and was used in every supermini and compact Renault type up to and including the 1993 Twingo:
The CH-serie was a 90° V6 engine developed by Gordini for Renault's autosport activities, the engine was used by Equipe Renault Elf in Formula One from 1973 to 1978. This François Castaing design was the predecessor of the famous EF series.
285 bhp @ 9,800rpm (1973), 300 bhp @ 10,500rpm (1977)
500 bhp @ 9,500rpm (1975–1978)
520/540 bhp @ 9,500rpm (1978)
The D family is the successor to the smaller versions of Type C, introduced in the mid-1990s, and is a cast-iron overhead camshaft inline-4 that powers the Renault Twingo:
A 1000 cc D7D version was abandoned after early development.
The E family (for Energy) is the successor to the larger versions of Type C. It is a cast-iron overhead camshaft inline-4 introduced on the Renault 19 in 1988 and widely used in the Clio and Mégane lineups:
The EF-serie was a 90° V6 Turbocharged engine jointly developed by Renault and Gordini, the engine was used by Equipe Renault Elf in Formula One from 1977 to 1985. This engine derived from the CH series designed by François Castaing, the F1 engine was developed by Bernard Dudot.
525 bhp (1977), 530 bhp (1979), 585 bhp (1982), 650 bhp (1983)
530 bhp (1979), 585 bhp (1982), 650 bhp (1983)
760 bhp (1984–1986)
815 bhp (1985–1986), 900 bhp (1986)
The F inline-4 family (for Fonte, French for cast iron) was the successor to the A family. Launched in 1981 on the Renault 9 and Renault 11, it has been the mainstay of Renault's engine lineup through the early 2000s in a succession of increasingly powerful petrol and Diesel variants in overhead camshaft configurations. It was also Renault's first production four-valve design. It is being replaced by the M engine resp. R engine (diesel only).
The G engine was designed in the late 1980s to be a modular family of overhead camshaft inline 4- and 5-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. A G7R petrol and a G8T Diesel variant were in development when Renault announced a merger with Volvo who was designing its own modular family along the same lines. The group decided to cancel the petrol versions, but diesel production started in 1993 and they were built for nearly two decades, until 2011. Despite the breakdown of the merger in 1993, Renault did use Volvo petrol engines (Type N) in its mid- and full-size models until the early 2000s.
H engines summarize two families of gasoline engines, the smaller with a max. cylinder bore of 72.2 mm and a larger family with typically 78 mm bore:
Multiple usage of the Renault H series resp. Nissan HR name plates may cause some confusion because both families offer a three-cylinder 1.0L version and another 1.2L version with 3 resp. 4 cylinders. It appears to be that the earlier engine was named HR10 (bore 78mm x 69.7 mm stroke) while the later got HRA0 (72.2 x 83.1) resp. the earlier was named HR12 (78 x 83.6) and the later got HRA2 (72.2 x 73.1). Renault may not suffer from this because they never utilized the bigger three cylinder engines. Nonetheless both families have DOHC and an aluminium alloy crankcase and cylinder head. For this engine family some of the naming system has been taken over from Nissan: 't' means 'turbo-charged' and 'k' stands for 'kaizen' which means 'change for better' or 'continuous improvement' in Japanese.
The J family (also referred to as the Douvrin engine) was an all-aluminum overhead camshaft inline-four design jointly developed with PSA. Introduced in 1977, it was phased out in 1996 and replaced by the F series.
The K type is a major evolution of the E type.
The L type is an overhead camshaft petrol V6 developed jointly with PSA, who refer to it as the ES engine:
Renault used this engine first in the Laguna in 1997, shortly after it became available in the Safrane, and the Espace rated 194 PS (143 kW). Engines after 2001 got a new injection system and variable valve timing, this variant is rated 211 PS (155 kW), was being used in the Avantime, and the Laguna II V6. The engine was also used in the Clio V6, rated 230 PS (169 kW) in the phase 1 vehicles, and 255 PS (188 kW) after the facelift.
The M engine is an overhead camshaft engine developed jointly with Nissan, who refer to it as the MR engine. Two Diesel versions are in use at Renault as of the mid-2000s, although the petrol versions already launched by Nissan will almost certainly be used as well.
Renault's N designation refers to the sourced all-aluminum Volvo modular 4-valve DOHC inline-4 -5 engines fitted in the Laguna and Safrane.
The P engine is an overhead camshaft Diesel V6 sourced from Isuzu and used in the Vel Satis sedan and Espace minivan:
The R-Type is a family of straight-4 turbocharged diesel engines based on its predecessor F9M. Replaced the K engine. Production started in 2011.
The RS Prefix is Renault's internal designation for their Formula 1 racing engines.
The S engine was a cast-iron overhead camshaft inline-4 Diesel engine sourced from Italian engine manufacturer SOFIM. It has been used in the Trafic and Master utility van and the Safrane sedan since 1981:
The V engine is Renault's internal designation for the Nissan VQ engine, an overhead camshaft V6 used in the Vel Satis sedan, Latitude and Espace minivan. The V designation is also used for an unrelated diesel V6 engine jointly developed by Renault and Nissan, used in the Renault Laguna coupé, Latitude and designated V9X.
The X engine (referred to as XZ and XY by PSA) was an all-aluminum overhead camshaft inline-4 jointly developed with PSA. Introduced in 1974, it powered the ill-fated Renault 14 midsize car and was phased out in 1982 by evolutions of the C series:
The Z engine, also known as the PRV engine, was an aluminium overhead camshaft V6 developed jointly with PSA and Volvo in the early 1970s. Introduced in 1975 on the Renault 30, it also powered the 25, Safrane, Laguna, Espace, and Alpine. It also famously powered the DeLorean sports car.
The straight-six engine is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balance, resulting in fewer vibrations than other designs of six or fewer cylinders.
The VK engine is a V8 piston engine from Nissan. It is an aluminum DOHC 4-valve design.
The VG engine is a family of V6 engines designed and produced by Nissan between 1983 and 2004.
A multi-valve or multivalve engine is one where each cylinder has more than two valves. A multi-valve engine has better breathing, and with more smaller valves may be able to operate at higher revolutions per minute (RPM) than a two-valve engine, delivering more power.
The Austin Motor Company A-series is a British small straight-4 automobile engine. Launched in 1951 with the Austin A30, production lasted until 2000 in the Mini. It used a cast-iron block and cylinder head, and a steel crankshaft with three main bearings. The camshaft ran in the cylinder block, driven by a single-row chain for most applications, and with tappets sliding in the block, accessible through pressed steel side covers for most applications, and with overhead valves operated through rockers. The cylinder blocks are not interchangeable between versions intended for conventional end-on mounted gearboxes and the 'in-sump' transaxle used on British Motor Corporation/British Leyland front wheel drive models such as the Mini. The cylinder head for the overhead-valve version of the A-series engine was designed by Harry Weslake – a cylinder head specialist famed for his involvement in SS (Jaguar) engines and several Formula One-title winning engines. Although a "clean sheet" design, the A-series owed much to established Austin engine design practise, resembling in general design and overall appearance a scaled-down version of the 1200cc overhead-valve engine first seen in the Austin A40 Devon which would form the basis of the later B-series engine.
The Renault-Nissan MR engine family consists of straight-four 16-valve all-aluminium and water cooled automobile engines with variable valve timing co-developed by Renault and Nissan. Renault calls it the M engine. Other noteworthy features of this engine family include acoustically equal runner lengths and a tumble control valve for the intake manifold, a "silent" timing chain, mirror finished crankshaft and camshaft journals, and offset cylinder placement in an attempt for increased efficiency.
The Douvrin family is an all-aluminum inline-four automobile engine designed in the early 1970s and produced from 1977 to 1996 by Compagnie Française de Mécanique, a joint-venture between PSA and Renault located in the town of Douvrin in northern France. This engine is designed by the engineer Jean-Jacques His. It was produced in the same factory as the PRV V6, which also is sometimes known outside France as the "Douvrin" V6. The Douvrin engine is also referred to as the ZDJ/ZEJ engine by Peugeot, and as the J-type engine by Renault.
The HR is a family of straight-3 12-valve and straight-4 16-valve automobile engines with continuously variable valve timing, involving development by Nissan and/or Renault, and also Mercedes-Benz in the case of the H5Ht/M282. The designation of H engine is used by Renault, and M28x by Mercedes-Benz, to classify the family. There are three basic specifications of engine involving variations in engine architecture, or all-new architecture, with 72.2 mm (2.84 in), 75.5 mm (2.97 in) and 78 mm (3.07 in) bore diameter.
The Cléon-Fonte engine is a family of inline four-cylinder automobile engines developed and manufactured by Renault. It has also been called the Sierra engine, the C-engine, or the C-Type. It has been in continuous production by Renault or a licensee from 1962 to 2004. After about three decades of use in Renault's compact models, it was gradually replaced by the E-type engine from the late 1980s onward.
F Renault engine is an automotive internal combustion engine, four-stroke, inline-four engine bored directly into the iron block, water cooled, with overhead camshaft driven by a timing belt, and with an aluminum cylinder head, developed and produced by Renault in the early '80s, making its appearance on the Renault 9 and 11. This engine is available in petrol and diesel versions, with 8 or 16 valves.
The Renault Energy engine also known as "E engine" or "E-Type" is an automotive gasoline four-stroke inline four cylinder internal combustion engine, with a sleeved water cooled cast iron block, equipped with 5 crankshaft bearings, an overhead camshaft driven by a toothed timing belt and an aluminum cylinder head with 8 overhead valves. Developed and produced by Renault in the late 1980s, the engine made its first appearance in the Renault 19.
The K-Type is a family of inline-4 automobile engines developed and produced by Renault since 1995. This is an internal combustion engine, four-stroke, with 4 cylinders in line bored directly into the iron block, water cooled, with tree (s) driven overhead camshafts driven by a toothed timing belt and an aluminium cylinder head. This engine is available in petrol and diesel versions, with 8 or 16 valves.
The VR is a series of twin-turbo DOHC V6 automobile engines from Nissan with displacements of 3.0 and 3.8 L. An evolution of the widely successful VQ series, it also draws on developments from the VRH, JGTC, and Nissan R390 GT1 Le Mans racing engines.
The Nissan TB straight-six petrol engine was released in 1987 as the TB42. Bore and stroke were 96 mm × 96 mm. Cubic capacity was 4,169 cc displacement). The engine was released with a two-barrel carburettor and a point type distributor. It was used in the Nissan Patrol Y60 and Y61 series.
The PSA ES/L engine is a V6 petrol engine used in automotive applications. It was co-developed by the PSA Group and Renault to replace the outdated V6 PRV engine. It was introduced in 1997 with the Peugeot 406 Coupé. It is designed and manufactured by the company "Française de Mécanique" for PSA and Renault. In PSA, the engine is known as the ES engine, in Renaults, the engine is known as the L engine.