Renault Sport 2014 V6 Turbo Shows Its Beautiful Face

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is the first engine supplier to take the wraps off its 2014 1.6-liter V6 turbocharged Formula 1 engine. Despite the lower displacement and lower redline, Renault says that the new engines are even more powerful than the V8 that it replaces and use 35% fuel thanks to larger engine recovery.

The new rules allow each driver to use five engines, down from eight now, through the entire season in 2014, and they will be able to use four in the coming years. The cars are limited to 100kg of fuel per race. The engines have a rev limit of 15,000rpm, down from 18,000rpm, with a single turbocharger running at 3.5 bar of boost. Each exhaust bank is routed to the turbo at the rear of the engine, and there is a single exhaust outlet leaving the car.

The big change is that the engine has two energy recover systems. One gets power from kinetic energy and can turn at 50,000rpm, while the current system runs at 38,000rpm. The other recovery unit gets its energy from excess heat from the turbo. It can recover five times more energy per lap. It allows it to supply 161hp, from 80hp now.

Renault began development of the new engine in January 2012 and began with developing just one cylinder. It took six months before it was satisfied with its power and fuel economy and built a prototype V6. The energy recovery systems were added in February 2013 for testing with the engine, and the final unit was dyno tested in June 2013. The engine will not hit the track in a car for the first time until January 2014. The first race is in March. 

Renault has released an audio clip of the new engine running a simulated portion of the Singapore Grand Prix. It cannot be embedded, but you can hear it here.