two-stroke, two-cylinder super-charged and turbo-charged diesel engine
The Renault-Nissan Alliance bills itself as the worldwide leader in electric vehicles with a claimed 58 percent of the global market share. In the highly competitive world of increasingly efficient powertrains, development can never stand still if the company wants to maintain that dominance. Renault just held a show of its latest drivetrain prototypes. The most bizarre of them wasn't electrified, but it was so weird that it needed to be shared.
Dubbed the Powerful, the experimental engine is a 730cc, two-stroke, two-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged diesel that makes between 47 and 67 horsepower and 83 to 107 pound-feet of torque. The mill is lightweight, too, tipping the scales at 88 pounds less than the company's current 1.5-liter diesel. This is the type of design that cargo ships sometime use, and now a miniature version could find its way into a city car. Just imagine blasting around Paris in a Twingo with this thing buzzing away behind you.
Unfortunately, the Powerful isn't ready for primetime yet because Renault doesn't think the performance is up to snuff. It's working with 18 partners in Europe to try to make the tiny engine a reality, though.
In addition to the Powerful, Renault unveiled several other projects. It's working on a mild hybrid diesel designed for light commercial vehicles like delivery vans and a small trailer for the Twizy to let it carry goods for short distances. The automaker has a compact electric motor of its own design and a more efficient bi-fuel gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas engine on display; both of these are set to go on sale next year.