Renault lifts the lid on future mobility ideas

Renault lifts the lid on future mobility ideas

Renault has lifted the lid on two innovations based on its EOLAB prototype, both of which are scheduled to appear in production cars in 2015.

As well as this, the brand has revealed three longer-term approaches to low fuel consumption and low-emissions mobility.

The plans were unveiled during an Innovations@Renault event in Paris at which the company's Co-operative Innovations Laboratory gave a preview into how the brand's powertrains and propulsion systems might evolve in the next few years.

Renault has developed a new, more efficient and more compact electric motor and a new turbocharged petrol engine adapted for use with LPG (liquified petroleum gas), both of which are scheduled for introduction next year.

The new, compact electric motor � designed and made entirely by Renault  delivers similar performance to those in use today but is around 10 per cent smaller. It is a synchronous unit with a wound rotor and delivers 65 kW (88hp) and 220 Nm of torque.  It was designed by Renault's motor engineers in France and manufactured in Renault's Cl�on plant.

Renault's new dual-fuel petrol/LPG engine promises 25 per cent lower fuel bills and 10 per cent lower CO2 emissions than a comparable petrol-only power unit. It is a three-cylinder engine featuring a turbocharger, engine Stop&Start, brake energy recovery and an eco-mode, and it complies with EU6 emissions regulations.

Looking further ahead, Renault and its partners are looking at a mild hybrid diesel prototype (HYDIVU project), a diminutive two-stroke diesel engine (POWERFUL project) and a small electric delivery vehicle based on the Twizy (VELUD project) as the basis for clean, low-cost urban mobility.

Tamsin Fewkes

by: Becca Chaplin