The EF-Type was a

Turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

90° V6

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

developed by

Renault Sport Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was the motorsport, performance and special vehicles division for Renault-badged cars. Renault Sport was officially established in 1976 as a merger between the Alpine and Gordini competition departments. It w ...

, the engine was used by Equipe Renault Elf in Formula One from 1977 to 1985. This engine derived from the CH series designed by

François Castaing François J. Castaing (born 18 March 1945 in Marseille) is an automotive executive with Renault, American Motors, and Chrysler. He is an engineering graduate from École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers in Paris, and worked in Europe fo ...

, the F1 engine was developed by Bernard Dudot. Renault's decision to use its 1500 cc V6 turbo engines in F1 was one of the boldest decisions ever taken in the sport. In nine full seasons competing against normally aspirated 3000 cc engines, they gave an excellent account of themselves, with: *One World Championship Runner-Up title in 1983. *20 race wins (15 with Renault, 5 with

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

). *50 pole positions (32 with Renault, 18 with Lotus). *51 podium finishes (25 with Renault, 20 with Lotus, six with Ligier). Ultimately, as a result of their success, all F1 teams adopted turbo engines in the 1985 season.

Engines

EF1

1977–1979

Based on the 2-litre "type CHS" engine and developing at 11,000 rpm, this engine underwent several major changes (metallurgy, mixed air-water exchanger) before bringing the Renault RS01 its first points in and its first pole position in . *EF1: Bore x Stroke 7.0:1 Compression, one

Garrett Garrett may refer to: Places ;United States * Garrett, Illinois * Garrett, Indiana * Garrett, Kentucky (multiple places) ** Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community ** Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated communi ...

turbocharger.

1979–1983

With its two small turbochargers, this engine reduced

turbo lag In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...

considerably. It brought Renault its first F1 race win with a turbo engine ( Dijon 1979). It would undergo a number of significant changes over the years ( electronic injection and two-flap

air intake An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...

in 1982, water injection at air intake in ) and its horsepower would gradually increase, eventually reaching . In all, it claimed 15 race wins, 30

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

s and 19 pole positions and saw both Renault and

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing ...

finish second in the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships respectively. It was also supplied to the Lotus team in 1983. *EF1: Bore x Stroke 7.0:1 Compression, two

KKK The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

turbochargers.

EF4

1984

This engine marked the return of Garrett turbochargers. Fitted to the Renault RE50,

Lotus 95T The Lotus 95T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for use by Team Lotus in the 1984 Formula One World Championship. The car brought Lotus its best results for several seasons, frequently reaching the podium. Design T ...

and

Ligier JS23 The Ligier JS23 was a Formula One car designed by Michel Beaujon and Claude Galopin for the Ligier team for use in the 1984 Formula One season. The car was powered by a turbocharged Renault V6 engine and ran on Michelin tyres. Drivers of the car ...

, it could not break the dominance of the Porsche built TAG V6 engine which powered the

McLaren MP4/2 The McLaren MP4/2 was a Formula One car produced by McLaren for the 1984 season. An iteration of it, the MP4/2B, was used in the 1985 season, and a slightly updated version, the MP4/2C, raced in the 1986 season for McLaren. It was closely base ...

to 12 wins out of 16 races. It nevertheless notched up 11 podium finishes and three pole positions and allowed Lotus driver

Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis (26 March 1958 – 15 May 1986) was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed in an accident while testing the Brabham BT55 at the Pau ...

to finish the season in 3rd place. 1984 marked the first year since 1978 that a Renault engine did not win a Formula One race. By 1984, the Renault turbo was producing approximately in race trim and around for qualifying. *EF4: Bore x Stroke 7.0:1 Compression, two Garrett turbochargers. It was the last engine to be badged "Renault Gordini", as there was now a new name to promote: Renault Sport.

"Type-Bis" early 1985

This engine's defining characteristics were its centralized electronic injection and ignition control systems. Generating just over , it powered the

Renault RE60 The Renault RE60 was a Formula One car designed by Bernard Dudot and Jean-Claude Migeot and was raced by the Renault team in the season. The cars were driven by Patrick Tambay and Derek Warwick who had also driven for the team in 1984. Design an ...

, Lotus 97T, Ligier JS25 and

Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing by Maurice Philippe for use in the season. The cars were powered by the turbocharged Renault EF4B V6 engine. The car was successor of the 012, which was powered by naturally ...

. It was responsible for one race win, two pole positions and two podium finishes. *EF4: Bore x Stroke 7.0:1 Compression, two Garrett turbochargers.

EF15

mid-1985

With greater fuel economy thanks to its new dimensions and a lower boost pressure, its horsepower nevertheless oscillated between and , thanks to metallurgical developments in the turbochargers. It earned two race wins and five pole positions for Lotus, as well as ten podium finishes (four for the Lotus 97T, four for the Ligier JS25 and two for the Renault RE60). *EF15: Bore x Stroke 7.5:1 Compression, two Garrett turbochargers.

"Type-B" early 1986

This engine boasted two innovative features that would soon gain widespread acceptance – static ignition and pneumatic valve actuation – which allowed it to reach 12,500 rpm. Capable of generating in race trim, it would record two race wins and five pole positions with Lotus, as well as five podium finishes (three with Lotus and two with Ligier). It powered the Lotus 98T and the

Ligier JS27 The Ligier JS27 was the Formula One car used by French team Ligier to compete in the season. Description The JS27 was a development of the previous year's JS25, with a lower fuel tank and revised aerodynamics to take advantage of the fuel limit ...

. *EF15B: Bore x Stroke 7.5:1 Compression, two Garrett turbochargers.

"Type-C" mid 1986

Equipped with a number of new features (

cylinder head In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinder (engine), cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas ...

cylinder block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...

, waste-gate, mapping, etc.) and developing more than at 12,500 rpm in qualifying, this engine enabled

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and wo ...

's Lotus 98T to notch up four pole positions and three podium finishes to close the V6 turbo era in style.

Formula One World Championship results

References

{{reflist EF Formula One engines Gasoline engines by model V6 engines