Renault has revealed a new 1,3-litre direct injection turbocharged petrol engine co-developed with Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, Daimler.
The French automaker says this new four-cylinder engine offers a “significant improvement in driving pleasure”, with “better torque” at low revolutions and “greater and constant availability” at high revolutions, while “reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions”.
This new engine block, which can be coupled with manual or dual-clutch transmissions, will be offered in a variety of power ratings, including a base unit making 86 kW and 220 N.m (the latter at just 1 500 r/min) and mated exclusively to a manual gearbox. There will also be a 104 kW/240 N.m version available with either transmission and a 119 kW version that makes 260 N.m in manual guise and 270 N.m in self-shifting form.
The new engine – produced at a Renault plant in Valladolid, Spain – will make its debut in the Scénic and Grand Scénic line-up, before being “progressively” rolled out to other models in the Renault range from 2018. While Mercedes-Benz has yet to confirm which of its wares will inherit the new 1,3-litre engine, it seems likely that base versions of the next-generation A-Class will be the first.
“Our new petrol engine embodies all the expertise of Groupe Renault’s engineers, the Alliance and our partner Daimler. It meets the quality standards of both the Alliance and Daimler, with more than 40 000 hours of testing,” said Philippe Brunet, Alliance global VP for powertrain & electric vehicles.
