BMW’s involvement with the Olympic games is not a new event: nearly 40 years ago, it was again leading the charge at the Games of the XX Olympiad. 

Leading the charge, literally. Its fleet that time round was a series of orange BMW 1602 Elektro – pure EV cars that BMW had been developing since 1969.

These boasted some decent stats, given how they were pioneering modern-day electric cars. Despite a brace of 12v lead acid batteries, the motor was able to produce 43hp, and the range was more than enough to serve as a decent escort vehicle at the Games.

The orange 1602 Elektro even led the marathon and road walk events during the two-month Olympic Games event, suggesting the real-world range was 26 miles plus a decent safety margin… not bad for something using similar batteries to those in our cars today (check out the image – literally rows of car batteries…). The quoted range was 60km at a constant 50km/h.

Marking the start of BMW’s battery vehicle research programme, several more electric BMWs followed the 1602 Elektro through the years, culminating in the forthcoming launch of the i3 and i8. But it was back at the Olympic Games in 1972 that BMW’s EV aspirations first received global recognition.

How fitting that, 40 years on, the firm is back at the Games with a fleet that again includes electric vehicles: 200 MINI E and BMW 1 Series ActiveE will help make up the 4500-car fleet, which meets the sub-120g/km overall CO2 target set by LOCOG with ease.

Indeed, the green BMW and MINI fleet has seen BMW become a Tier One ‘Sustainability Partner’ for the 2012 London Olympics, no doubt aided, as board member Ian Robertson pointed out, by being voted Dow Jones’ most sustainable car company for five years in a row.

It says something for progress, though, that the chief reason for this big Olympic sustainability win is not the presence of EVs, but the fact 1842 320d EfficientDynamics will be used on the fleet. Yes, the 1602 Elektro showwd the world BMW could do zero emissions back in the 70s but, four decades on, it’s the low emissions of that car’s generational successor, the 3 Series, that gives BMW the real world win.

Seems even now, the world is not quite ready for electric cars. At least the Olympic effort to change minds is now underway…

London 2012 Olympics and BMW: the fleet

• 200 Electric Vehicles (MINI E and 1 Series ActiveE)
• 1842 320d EfficientDynamics (68.9mpg)
• 679 520d EfficientDynamics (62.8mpg)
• 20 5 Series ActiveHybrid (44.1mpg)
• 3 730Ld SE (41.5mpg)
• 6 MINI Cooper D Countryman (64.2mpg)
• 308 318d and 520d Touring EDs (62.8mpg/57.6mpg)
• 23 X3 and X5
• 30 on- andoOff-road motorcycles
• 400 BMW bicycles
• 971 Vans, MPVs and Minibuses

Peugeot has launched the world’s first diesel-electric hybrid, despite the world telling us it can’t be done.

The costs!, says the world. The technical challenge!, it points out. The woes of running a diesel engine on short-burst cycles!, it chucks in. Petrol is OBVIOUSLY the only way to make a hybrid, went conventional logic. Until Peugeot disagreed with it.

So, how? Well, the PSA Hybrid4 system has been made affordable by locating it on the rear axle rather than the front (thus separeating it from the engine completely), and cleverly using propriety parts when doing so. Parts bin components stretch to 508 rear suspension on the 3008 that launches it, with the entire system designed to be a plug-in module rather than something to be built in.

Basically, Mulhouse builds the modules and ships them to Sochaux, where they’re bolted on during production in a process not unlike fitting rear suspension itself. It’s even done on the existing 3008 production line, so a Hybrid4 can roll down in between a 1.6 HDi 112 and a THP Turbo 165.

Peugeot says it’s so modular can be fitted to any C-sector and D-sector model. 3008 and 508 RXH we’ve seen: regular 508 Hybrid4 is on the way. The 5008 may be a challenge with its seven seats, but as the Hybrid4 gear takes up no extra space in the 3008 (not even the batteries encroach, unlike as in the Toyota Prius/Auris HSD), Peugeot may already be onto it.

Peugeot v Honda

Incidentally, Honda said one of the remarkable achievements of the Jazz Hybrid was the fact interior space remains identical to the regular car. That’s why it could only hit a 104g/km CO2 target, rather than 99g/km.

Well, Honda, here’s a Peugeot hybrid with no less interior space too – that also meets 99g/km and thus gets free road tax over here. OK, it’s a CO2 target-hitting trick pulled with smaller alloys and no standard sat nav (presumably to save weight), but even so: does this mean, Honda, you’ve been outsmarted by Peugeot?

I digress. Peugeot won’t with the latest 308, though. While it could design a diesel-electric hybrid version of the current family hatch, it won’t. That model is too close to the end of its lifecycle, so hybrid will have to wait until the next one. Peugeot did hint at the expected CO2 figure, though: 89g/km from this 2.0-litre HDi 163 setup.

There also won’t be a hybrid 207, despite the technology being entirely scaleable. The benefits would be far too small, said Peugeot, and supermini cars are already very low on CO2 without the need to add expensive hybrid – which, besides, would be a proportionally much higher cost.

Clever drivetrain

One very clever aspect of the technology is the separation of engine and gearbox. Not only does this make it far, far easier to develop and build (no whizzy Toyota CVT gearbox here, for instance – just a regular Peugeot robotised manual whose lurching shifts have been smoothed significantly by giving a burst of electric motor torque during gearshifts – very clever), but it also means different engines can be used.

Here, we have a powerful, highly-tuned 2.0-litre. The integrated starter-alternator it’s fitted to is also available on the 1.6 HDi. Fuel economy potential of a 1.6 Hybrid4 150 (with the electric motor providing the power boost), then? In a mid-range Peugeot  308 hatch that may already duck below 90g/km in 2.0 Hybrid4 200 guise? Potentially mega.

The component that’s most significant of all, and the reason why other makers haven’t yet done diesel hybrid, is Peugeot’s integrated starter-alternator. This has been uprated for its new application, from 3KW to 8KW – to ensure it can supply charge to the battery. In normal hybrids, the trick gearbox takes care of this, diverting power away from the engine to create a generator function.

Peugeot can’t do this as the electric motor isn’t built in. So, instead, the starter turns into a generator meaning that, whenever the driver is on the power, electricity is generated and transmitted, via four beefy electrical cables, from front to rear.

Oh, and the four-wheel drive function doesn’t disappear if the rear batteries are flat, either. The starter-alternator can generate charge to power the rear motor direct, ensuring the four-wheel drive function is always available, rather than being charge-dependent. Truly, truly ingenious.

The elegance and relative simplicity of Peugeot’s remarkable hybrid system is brilliant. Have other makers simply tried to be too clever, which is why they’ve not done a diesel hybrid before? Peugeot has, instead, been logically astute – and, in doing so, brought to market the first mainstream hybrid that actually works on the road as you’d hope.

Believe me, it’s not going to be the only time we see the hybrid concept debuted here by Peugeot…

+ Stop-start or start-stop?

+ BMW ECO PRO

+ From the Porsche archives: Carmine Red and the Panamera GTS

The biggest influencer of fuel economy is the driver. Low rolling resistance tyres save 3%; auto stop-start can save 5% or more. 

The driver, however, can save 20% – and it is this massive potential, greater even than the sum total of every Bluemotion-style pack of eco changes to date, that BMW is seeking to tap into.

The new BMW 1 Series marks the debut of ECO PRO, an interactive function of iDrive that teaches greener driving and rewards for doing so (it’s also coming to the new 3 Series too). We’ve had such systems before – Fiat’s eco:Drive, Ford and Honda’s ‘petals’ and so forth – but BMW’s is the best yet.

More than just an electronic ‘badge’ that are usually an intriguing gimmick for a few weeks but then forgotten, ECO PRO offers tangible benefits that offer the potential for game-changing developments in the future.

It is opt-in: drivers must select ECO PRO from the BMW drive select switch (‘anti-Sport’ as one engineer dubbed it). Doing so does three things:

• Selects bespoke settings within engine ECU

• Optimises electric load

• Displays ECO PRO screen

The electric load saver function is meritorious in itself. No mainstream maker has fitted a function that dials back the electrical consumption of accessories such as electric seats and heated rear window: a bit like the National Grid cutting power delivery to your house.

The interactive element is the snazzy bit. All the time you are consuming less fuel than the car’s combined average, the famed BMW economy gauge (now electronically represented) dives into the blue zone. Blue means you’re saving fuel – and the deeper you can get it in there, the more fuel you’re saving.

There’s more. To make it tangible, an additional readout, also in blue, shows how many miles more you’re getting from the tank. This is the ingenious part: the more you take it steady, the more miles you eek out.

It is reset each time you refuel, so is stored even if you turn the engine off. Thus, a permanent incentive to save fuel and claw the miles back. A savings account that’s in your hands – so if you want a ‘free’ 50-mile’ trip on the weekended, ease off to claw back the miles.

There’s yet more. Don’t get the idea of eco driving? ECO PRO to the rescue – it flashes up tips and hints on the screen as you go, based on an analysis of driving style. It knows that heavy braking is not efficient, nor is going fast, nor is accelerating hard, nor is holding onto gears.

All of this stuff may be obvious to us, but it’s not to all: a few lines of text saying as much, as the driver commits the eco error, will soon give them the idea.

And as it’s all part of the challenge, if they’re engaged by saving fuel, they’ll be keen to take the messages on board.

Is this gamification of saving fuel, with an active feedback loop to provide tuition, the future of saving fuel? The driver is the single biggest key to big, big gains in fuel efficiency: are we to see more onboard games in the future, feeding a real-time PlayStation Network to turn drivers into eco-inspired gamers?

+ BMW 1 Series power meters

+ VW Golf R dials’ cool blue point

+ Diesel drives Peugeot sub-130g/km CO2 win

Stop-start or start-stop: which does your car have?

Like so many titles in the car world, each car brand has a different way of describing, er, stop-start.

Now, logic to me says it should be stop-start. The function stops the engine at traffic lights, then starts it.

Not everyone agrees, though. Here’s the official wording preferred by the UK’s leading car makers. As you can see, there’s quite some variety there:

Audi: start-stop

BMW: Auto Start Stop

Fiat: Start&Stop

Ford: Auto-Start-Stop

Jaguar: Intelligent Stop/Start

Kia: Intelligent Stop and Go

Land Rover: Intelligent Stop/Start

Mercedes-Benz: ECO start/stop

Peugeot: Stop and Start

Renault: Stop and Start

SEAT: Start & Stop

Skoda: Stop/Start

Toyota: Stop & Start

Vauxhall: Start/Stop

Volkswagen: Start-stop

Consensus? Start-stop seems to be favoured by the German brands, but stop-start is preferred by the Brits and the French. Not sure what this tells us, other than we Brits have one form of logic and Germans have another.

Does it matter? Well, it does if you’re a fledgling subeditor and want to create SEO-friendly consistency across your work. From now, then, I’ve decided to call it stop-start: hyphen rather than forward slash, in the logical way of how it works rather than the preference of the world’s leading premium brands.

Clients I write for may have other preferences, which I’ll of course fall in line with… but how many people refer to stop-start in their style guide – and, if so, what’s the favoured order?

Do YOU have a preference? Share ‘em if so and let’s see if we can get a start a standard…

+ Ford adding smart stop start

+ Land Rover Defender: the great green potential

+ 2012 Jaguar XF engineering: did you know?

Green cars and eco sub-brands have to be a staple of any right-thinking manufacturer these days. 

If you’re not showing off your eco credentials with a special badge applied to your very greenest, most environmentally-aware models, you are, it seems, a little bit nowhere.

These green sub-brands are a sort of BMW M/Audi RS/Mercedes AMG version of an eco car: the most hardcore, highest-green-performance planet-savers. If you like green cars, these are your poster boys.

Each manufacturer has different standards for its greenest cars, but the principles are generally similar: dictate a CO2 benchmark they must dip beneath, stipulate a range of technolgoies such as stop-start that they must be fitted with, maybe throw in the fact they should be built in an ISO 14001 facility, and bingo: one green sub-brand set of standards.

But boy, they’re confusing. What’s an Econetic and what’s an Ecomotive? Who likes eco2 and who goes for EcoDynamics?

Well, salvation: here is an easy user guide to all the eco brands on the market. Coming up will be an explanation of all the standards each has to adopt.

For now, let’s keep things simple. Want to know what’s the greenest Renault and the most eco Ford? Well, here’s them all… updated as more come to market!

Audi: TDIe

BMW: EfficientDynamics

Citroen: Airdream

Ford: Econetic

Hyundai: Blue Drive

Kia: EcoDynamics

Mercedes-Benz: BlueEfficiency

MINI: Minimalist

Mitsubishi: ClearTec

Nissan: Pure Drive

Renault: eco2

SEAT: Ecomotive

Skoda: Greenline

Toyota: Optimal Drive

Vauxhall: EcoFlex

VW: Bluemotion AND Bluemotion Technology

Volvo: DRIVe

+ Land Rover Defender: the great green potential

+ EV 101: electric car basics

+ How Honda justifies the Jazz Hybrid

Peugeot has achieved sub-130g/km status this year.

That’ll please European legislators, who say European car makers must hit this range-average target – or else…. they’ll pay.

It’s been a gradual but sustained CO2 reduction for Peugeot: in 2001, its range average was 155g/km, falling to 145g/km in 2006. And the main driver of this? Diesel.

Today, Peugeot’s sales split is biased 64.4% diesel, and it commands 8.3% of the European diesel market overall. As diesel is, says Peugeot, 30% more fuel efficient (for similar advantages in CO2 too), it has an inherent sales advantage that is now paying big dividends.

Now, it’s going one further, and making a diesel hybrid. It’s been much-discussed elsewhere how logical this is, but here’s a bald-stat summary: Peugeot’s four-wheel drive crossover hybrid has a better CO2 figure than Honda’s five-door supermini hybrid.

The added logic of the Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4

Why, though, asked a French journalist, is it introducing it in the 3008 range, rather than an all-new car? Because, replied Peugeot, the 3008 has been a bit of a hit.

289,800 have been sold since it was launched in 2009; in 2010, the 129,600 sales total was, apparently, 40% up on objective. Year to date, it’s up another 16%. Even more impressively, the sales are 55% conquest, compared to the normal 35-40% for mainstream makes.

The 3008 will overtake the 308 in Peugeot UK’s sales league this year – a more expensive, more premium model overtaking the lower-range heartland that used to win it so many sales. The hybrid will also take 20% of those sales next year, too. Yes, 20% – for a model that starts at £27k.

So Peugeot is charging premium prices, presumably winning some premium customers, and backing it up with marketing focused on making it appear more premium. Could it actually end up becoming the mainstream-premium maker it wants? The 3008 HYbrid4 will be a telling test.

Even more smartly, although it’s pushing up prices, it won’t be paying any CO2 penalties as a result. The HYbrid4 technology is cleverly modular, so can be applied to any C- or D-sector model. 99g/km Peugeot 508 It’s on the way next year – with the 109g/km Audi Allroad-style Peugeot 508 RXH there to, yup, continue the premium drive.

Peugeot driven by diesel

All thanks to that staple of Peugeot’s range, the diesel engine. Diesel allowed Peugeot to get its average below 130g/km, without hefty investment in high-tech eco gadgetry. Now, it’s allowing the brand to explore new premium opportunities with further-enhanced impressive low CO2 claims.

The diesel-electric hybrid experience is classy, feel-good and, crucially, works with the sophistication expected of a premium brand drivetrain. Now, Peugeot’s going to exploit it, with some classy upper-range models.

Apparently, the 3008 HYbrid4 is generating real interest, and the special launch editions of the Peugeot 508 RXH sold out within three days. People already like diesels, and like the idea of hybrids. Peugeot has combined the two to create a very marketable concept that’s working even in sectors previously out of bounds to the brand.

The power of going green: there’s a clear business case for it too, that Peugeot is already enjoying. Yet more evidence that, right now, green cars really do hold all the cards.

And diesel is, at the moment, key to the whole green car movement.

+ Land Rover Defender: the great green potential

+ SEAT applies the sun green

+ How Honda justifies the Jazz Hybrid

Honda will not launch a hybrid version of the new Civic, because it feels diesel is a more relevant economy choice for European drivers.

Arch-rival Toyota sells two petrol-electric models in the Honda Civic sector (the Toyota Prius and Toyota Auris HSD), but Honda has no plans to follow suit – despite a hybrid version of the (surprisingly strongly criticised) new Honda Civic being available in the US.

What encouraging words to hear: that’s the engineers in the company speaking, rather than the marketing men. Engineers love a technical challenge, but they also love elegant solutions – and if a diesel can do all that hybrid can do, for less cost and less complexity, then so be it.

Mind you, maybe they’re also still charred from their European adventure with the Honda Jazz Hybrid and Honda Insight Hybrid. Both are clever hybrid cars that should’ve given Honda two well-priced winners – but for their glaring miss of a key CO2 target, the 100g/km barrier.

They were close: the Honda Insight reached 101g/km*, and the Jazz was on 104g/km. So why didn’t they go one step further? Pure engineer principals, I was told. Space wasn’t to be compromised, which meant the design couldn’t be fully optimised for CO2. If the Honda boys do hybrid with a set of goals in mind, by jove they’ll meet them. As one of the targets clearly wasn’t to hit 100g/km, then it wasn’t added to their to-do list. Dang.

Maybe this is why they’ve changed tack?

Anyway, Honda will instead launch a new small-capacity diesel to sit below the new 2.2-litre turbodiesel. This will be more relevant to the longer-distance, higher-speed European style of motoring (and also bring Honda in line with rivals’ trend of downsizing diesels).

The new engine is expected to be around 1.6-litres in capacity and will be even more efficient than the impressively-revised new 2.2-litre motor: the bigger engine emits 110g/km CO2 and is expected to average over 65mpg.

This is a double win for Honda: not only is the 2.2-litre i-CTDi far more fuel efficient than the old one (substantially raising the bar for any engine to sit beneath), it also does this from a step-behind starting point. Remember how the 2.2-litre diesel was pulled from Europe this year because it couldn’t meet Euro 5 emissions standards? Honda has been hard at work – despite, don’t forget, its apparent dislike of diesel…

Honda Civic evolution

Looking more generally, Honda said the new Civic is an intentional evolution of the current model, rather than an all-new car. Bosses described the approach as ‘radical evolution’.

The firm took this approach because the 2006 Civic was already radical, even in its latter years. Honda wanted to retain the style, which it called ‘sci fi’, but improve on weaknesses including ride and refinement.

Honda also focused on weight-saving during the design of the new Civic, which will be built at its British car factory in Swindon. Despite this, the new Civic is no lighter than the old one.

This is because Honda has put the weight saved into improving refinement, noise, vibration and harshness. There’s more soundproofing and other measures to make it smoother and quieter. Again, a very engineer-led approach that you’d expect from Honda. What’s likely to be of more benefit to customers – 25kg off the kerbweight or 25kg extra noise insulation?

Full production for the new Civic will begin at Swindon in November. British employees have been trialling pre-production versions at the factory for the past year, revealed a Honda executive, to ensure quality levels are even better than the old one.

‘We have concentrated on building in line quality, something that’s been enhanced by our Honda associate’s fantastic attention to detail.’

Excitement is already building in Swindon too, which is now finally back on full production and full employment. I spoke to BBC Radio Wiltshire on the day of the Frankfurt Motor Show, to report back on the new Civic. I probably garbled but still sensed the vibe on the other end of the line from Swindon – this is good news, and everyone’s looking forward it growing as the car launches.

No hybrid? Who cares. CO2 is bang-on regardless and, with all its UK content, the cars that launched in Frankfurt are even more acutely relevant. In a few months’ time, we’ll be able to drive and report on how Honda’s done. Many eyes, including those from Swindon, will be watching with interest…

* The 2012 Honda Insight now, magically, does hit 100g/km. Why not do it in the first place? And, will the Jazz now follow?

+ How Honda Justifies the Jazz Hybrid

+ Honda highlights hybrid hoopla

+ Honda confuses writer: not for the first time

Land Rover this week launched the Defender version that will give the oldest Landie on sale yet another stay of execution.

The old 2.4-litre Ford Transit engine has been replaced by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel, related to that in the Freelander 2.

Producing 122hp and 265lb/ft of torque, it crucially also sports a diesel particulate filter, helping it achieve supertough Euro 5 emissions standards.

This is a legislative requirement for all new cars on sale. It came into force in January 2011 for passenger cars (and January of 2012 for light commercial vehicles such as the Defender) and has already done for family favourites such as the Honda Civic i-CTDi.

No, Honda wasn’t able to make that model Euro 5 emissions compliant, so it hasn’t been on sale since the start of the year. (A surprise for a company with its heart in engines such as Honda. Then again, that heart is in petrol engines, so perhaps it’s no surprise the diesel died.)

Now Land Rover has cracked it though, meaning the Defender can now stay on sale until 2016. That’s when the next wave of legislation kicks in, and around which high-level discussions are under way within Land Rover right now.

Green Defender

Here’s a fanciful thought for now, though: how about a stop-start Defender eD4 eco special?

Crazy? Well, why not..? There’s a stop start Freelander, after all, and the 2.2-litre engine has recently been revised once again for the Range Rover Evoque, where the stop-start version emits as little as 129g/km CO2.

Why not put this engine into the Defender? Indeed, why not go one further – optimise it for the road, alter the gearing, swap off-road tyres for low rolling resistance on-road ones, fit it solely to the 90 version… creating a sub-225g/km Defender – or, even, a sub-200g/km Defender?

The new 2.2-litre 90 version emits 266g/km, with its heavy off-road bias. It would be a big jump to 200g/km, but it’s not that fanciful when you realise how off-road optimised the Defender is.

There are probably a whole host of reasons why (including the fact Defenders are built for off-roading, and an on-road special may not fit with the brand values), but from a PR stance alone, it would be quite some statement for Land Rover to make.

Green Defender special, showing how eco even old icons can be? As a way of showing how truly modern and environmentally friendly Land Rover can be, it would be a flag-bearer and then some. There’s no shortage of engineering talent within Land Rover that could make it so if challenged to, either.

So, Land Rover MD John Edwards, how about it?

+ Renault Energy dCi 130: F1 on the road

+ June 2011: what is Land Rover doing at the moment?

+ SEAT applies the sun green

Renault is one of the most successful F1 engine makers of recent years.

Be it Williams, Renault (Lotus?) itself or now Red Bull, the firm’s Formula 1 engines have powered countless race wins, plus a hefty haul of World Driver and Constructor titles.

All this expenditure must be justified though, which is why car makers oft witter on about their F1 programmes driving what happens on the road. Indeed, we all think: like a Renault Clio 200 really is about to get a 2.4-litre V8.

But finally, Renault has revealed exactly how F1 can help road car programmes – with the headline-grabber being it’s giving us the most powerful (yet green) 1.6-litre diesel engine ever sold. Cue the 1.6 Energy dCi 130: the most advanced mid-range diesel yet built?

Facts

Renault wants to cut its range CO2 average from today’s 135g/km to below 120g/km in 2013, and below 100g/km come 2016. To do this, it needs new engines, with big incremental CO2 falls. Renault says its new Energy engines must cut CO2 by 30-40g/km over the motor they replace.

The R9M 1.6 Energy dCi 130, on paper, does this: 30g/km less CO2 and 20% better fuel economy than the 1.9 dCi 130 FQ9 it replaces. Design work started in 2006 and it was a clean-sheet design that generated 30 patents.

Of its 264 components, 75% are new: the rest mostly come from the MR9 2.0 dCi 150. There are also six specific CO2-reducing technologies, that together drop CO2 by that 20% total.

F1 link

The F1 link is genuine. Engineers from RenaultSport F1 in Viry-Chatillon worked with road car engine designers in Rueil to transfer F1 tech to the road.

Philippe Coblence managed the R9M project at Rueil – and formerly did the same at Viry-Chatillon for F1 engines in the early 2000s. He facilitated the technology transfer, and helped deliver three key areas of F1 engine thinking in the design of the 1.6 Energy dCi 130.

1: Square

Matching bore and stroke is loved by F1 engineers and is also present here. It allows large diameter valves to be used, which fill the combustion chambers more efficiently.

2: Water flow

Transverse water flow* is a common in F1. It means smaller water pumps can be used. Renault has combined it with a double water jacket, allowing a controlled flow of water can be focused solely on the hot zones – combustion chamber, injectors – and cools each cylinder equally.

As water is fed downstream of the water pump, it does not flow round the combustion cylinders, meaning the cylinder head is cooled more efficiently. Water flows ‘natrually’ round the system too, with no obstructions, meaning less wasted fuel.

3: Internal friction

Super-finished surfaces and UFLEX piston ring technology have both been used, after featuring in F1 for the past decade. UFLEX is, says Renault, like a multi-blade razor: it adapts to contours and does not exert undue pressure – maximum efficiency, minimum friction.

Low-pressure EGR

Most Exhaust Gas Recirculation systems are high pressure. They take exhaust gas from the combustion chamber almost as soon as it leaves, and inject this hot gas straight into the air intake. This reduces NOx but raises the intake pressure, restricting turbo pressure.

The 1.6 Energy dCi 130 has low-pressure EGR. This is far more complicated. Exhaust gases are recovered much further downstream, after they’ve been through both the turbine and particulate filter. They are cooled in an intercooler, then recirculated through the turbo to increase its pressure.

They are then cooled a second time, before re-entering the air intake. This ‘cold loop’ means the recirculation rate can be increased, further improving efficiency and reducing NOx levels.

Remember how turbocharged engines perform better on cold days, because the air density is higher? The same applies here.

The 1.6 Energy dCi 130 allows it because the distance between the catalyst, particulate filter and air intake is so short.

Thermal management

Cold engines – below 80deg C – are inefficient: combustion is incomplete and cold lubricant is more viscous, increasing friction.

Renault helps the engine warm up 3 minutes faster by using a valve in the cooling circuit. This is closed when it’s cold, so water can’t circulate through the engine, around the combustion chambers. The engine thus warms up faster. Water does, however, flow round the engine: that double jacket coming into play again.

When warm, the solenoid opens. And when it’s really warn, the thermostat opens, engaging the entire cooling circuit. The transverse flow of water is F1-derived and results in a simpler thermal management system that’s consistent and effective. A direct Renault F1 crossover to road cars.

Other stuff

• Renault claims swift variable-geometry turbo response from low revs, that’s so good, the technology behind it has been patented.
• The compression ratio is lower, for fewer emissions, with performance maintained by a higher turbo pressure: 2.7 bar is a 12% increase.
• Injection pressure is capped to 1600 bar, rather than 1800 bar, so smaller components can be used.
• The engine is the first to benefit from full work by Renault’s new NVH department: Renault says it’s as refined as a D-sector vehicle.
• 160 engineers worked on the engine, which took 32 months to complete. 76% new, the project cost €230m.
• Downsizing from 1.9 to 1.6 reduces the swept volume of each cylinder by 16%.

Although the Energy dCi 130 programme was co-funded by Alliance partner Nissan, Renault led development through being the ‘acknowledged diesel specialist’ of the two. Unlike Nissan, it was also able to call upon an in-house F1 programme, and it’s this learning that’s been applied here.

It’s easy to scoff at such claims of F1 technology transfer, but here, Renault given proof positive that race track learning really can benefit road cars – with 64.2mpg and 115g/km being a benefit all of us can enjoy.

Now, Renault, just bring on the Megane Coupe Lotus Energy dCi 130 launch special.

* Transverse water flow explained: Most engines use longitudinal coolant flow: it enters at one side of the cylinder head and flows through the entire head before exiting. See the problem? Yes – cylinder 1 heats up the coolant before it reaches cylinder 2, and so on. Poor cylinder 4.

Transverse flow sees coolant enter the side of the engine, with the return at the opposite side of the cylinder head. Each cylinder is separated from the others to avoid interference. Result? No heat soak from one cylinder to the next, making it much more efficient.

Longitudinal is commonplace, as it’s easier to cast and thus mass-produce. Transverse is better, though. In which direction does the coolant in your engine flow? Have you ever even considered it? I’m thinking not…

+ Nic Hamilton: in the family

+ SEAT + Germany = enjoyneering

+ Jason Plato: real-world racing car superstar

Infiniti has an M35h in the UK – and it is very lucky indeed to have it.

“This was one of the last cars produced before the Japanese earthquake hit,” said UK PR head Wayne Bruce.

It is undergoing trials prior to going on sale in September (again, delayed because of the earthquake: Infiniti’s V6 and V8 engine plant was badly hit in the quake). But one factor in particular is keeping Infiniti busy: the size of its alloy wheels.

In the interests of efficiency, the M35h is currently sold only in GT Premium spec. As standard, these models come with 18-inch alloy wheels. However, most UK Infiniti buyers actually choose the S grade – because it has 20-inch alloys.

“One of the main buying factors for Infiniti customers is design,” said Bruce. “98% of FX sales are S grade, mainly because of the big wheels.”

So, why not just fit 20-inch wheels to the GT Premium M35h? Not that simple, it seems. “There is a rule within Infiniti, that S is just not cosmetic. There are involved below-the-surface changes involved in creating them, too.

“Simply fitting a big set of alloys to a GT Premium car would go against this philosophy. We thus need to work closely with Japan, to see if we can find a solution.

“Another thing we like to do at Infiniti is give our customers what they want…” Watch this space on that, it seems. GT Premium on 20″s, or a new trim grade entirely? Time will tell.

Mind you, those who want the fastest accelerating hybrid on sale will already be happy, he added. “It does 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds. The Porsche Panamera does it in 6 seconds.”

Fans of Japanese heritage will also like that assessment M35h model Infiniti UK has. It features unique wood on the centre console, that looks fantastically glittery and sparkly in light.

“It is maki-e wood, where white ash goes through a six-stage process – which includes sanding it down then rubbing in real silver powder.

“It is made by Yamaha, and is actually produced in the firm’s piano factory. Apparently, there’s going to be a piano made in it, too…”

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