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Engines used by French automaker Renault SA have historically been referenced in technical specifications along two distinct systems:

Numbering systems

Numeric

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.

Alphanumeric

The system in use since the mid-1980s is of the format XnY-zzz where

Engine families

A

Main article: Renault Cléon-Alu engine

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:

B

Main article: Renault Billancourt engine

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:

B (2016-)

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

C

Main article: Renault Cléon-Fonte engine

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:

CH

Main article: Renault CH-Type engine

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)

D

Main article: Renault D-Type engine

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.

E

Main article: Renault Energy engine

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:

EF

Main article: Renault EF-Type engine

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)

F

Main article: Renault F-Type engine

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).

G

Main article: Renault G-Type engine

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

Main article: Nissan HR engine

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:

  1. The smaller family covers 0.9 - 1.33 litres of swept volume and was co-developed by Renault, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan. The largest naturally aspirated version has three cylinders and 1.0L, four cylinder engines are not known without turbocharging. In most cases Renault or Mercedes introduced these engines into their cars.
  1. The bigger family covers 1.0 - 1.6 litres of swept volume and are co-developed by Renault and Nissan with no known involvement from Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz does not utilize any one of these engines. Engines are mostly naturally aspirated while some versions with turbo or super charging are available. Most engines had been introduced by Nissan.

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.

J

Main article: Douvrin engine

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.

K

Main article: Renault K-Type engine

The K type is a major evolution of the E type.

L

Main article: PSA ES/L engine

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.

M

Main article: Nissan MR engine

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.

N

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.

P

Main article: DMAX V6 engine

The P engine is an overhead camshaft Diesel V6 sourced from Isuzu and used in the Vel Satis sedan and Espace minivan:

R

Main article: Renault R-Type engine

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.

RS

Main article: Renault RS engine

The RS Prefix is Renault's internal designation for their Formula 1 racing engines.

S

Main article: Renault S-Type engine

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:

V

Main article: Nissan VQ engine

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.

X

Main article: PSA-Renault X-Type engine

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:

Z

Main article: V6 PRV engine

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.

References

  1. ^ Pirotte, Marcel (1984-02-23). "Renault 11 TXE". Le Moniteur de l'Automobile (in French). Brussels, Belgium: Editions Auto-Magazine. 35 (789): 34.
  2. ^ Dupin, Marie (2023-03-15). "Moteurs défectueux: Renault condamné par la justice à transmettre des documents aux victimes du "Motorgate"". franceinfo (in French).
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