It's been a few years since eight-cylinders started to be big in the world, and so car manufacturers came up with supercharged six-cylinders . Then even those six-cylinders became large and uneconomical, so manufacturers focused on turbocharged four-cylinders . However, in the smallest cars, and now even lower middle-class models, even those four-cylinders are too big, so the number of cylinders has been reduced by one again. And when even three-cylinders start to be too big and uneconomical, two-cylinders come next…
The pioneer in this area is Fiat with the 0.9 TwinAir , which, in addition to the small 500, can also be found, for example, in the Alfa MiTo. Now it is joined by the French Renault with a diesel two-stroke two-cylinder with a volume of 730 cm 3 and supercharging with both a turbocharger and a compressor. The creation of the new unit probably could not have been easier – the French carmaker has cut the larger 15- litre dCi in half.
Compared to it, the novelty is 40 kg lighter and weighs under 100 kg, while it can save up to 15% of diesel fuel. Anyone who would be a little afraid of the noise of a two-stroke, according to Renault, needn't be. The sound should be the same as a four stroke four cylinder. The power of the new engine varies between 48 and 68 horses , the torque has risen to between 112 and 145 Nm at 1500 rpm thanks to double turbocharging.
It is not yet known when the first cars with this engine will go into production. Renault itself refers to the new two-stroke only as an experimental study . However, there is talk of primary use in cars in developing markets…
Source: Renault
