The French car manufacturer, Renault has come up with what can be called its first three cylinder engine. Featuring a displacement of just 899cc, this turbocharged petrol engine called the Energy TCe 90 is made entirely of aluminium and is a product of brand-new Renault design. The Energy TCe 90 is the eighth engine of the Energy family, launched within the space of 16 months. As with all engines from the range, the Energy TCe 90 benefits from breakthrough technologies and an expertise derived from Formula 1.
Jean-Philippe Mercier was the man behind the engineering of the 3 and 4 cylinder Energy TCe powerplants. The development of the TCe 90 was successful because of his expertise in three key areas; a comprehensive grasp of ‘square’ engine architectures, reducing friction, thanks to materials with low friction coefficients which are used in F1, such as Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coated cam followers, graphitecoated piston skirts, and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating of the piston rings and guaranteed reliability: the Energy TCe boasts a specific power output of 100hp/litre – a first for an engine of this size.
The 899cc mill produces 90 BHP of power at 5000 RPM and a torque of 135 NM which is available across a broad powerband from 1650 RPM to 5500 RPM. The Energy TCe 90 delivers the market’s fastest airflow ‘tumble’ effect inside the cylinders. Combustion is virtually instantaneous and takes full advantage of the downsizing to three cylinders. It also comes with Stop-Start technology, thermal management technology and a loads of other technology.
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