Automotive Engineer

Renault’s powertrain development facilities in Paris and northern France have been in energetic action since a product intention letter from the OEM’s project division landed on Josselin Visconti’s desk 28 months ago. The project manager for the OEM’s new 1.6-litre diesel engine was tasked with developing a powertrain with the same performance as the company’s 1.9-litre unit but with the efficiency of the 1.5-litre engine.

From that point, Visconti has been moving from daily meetings with design, calibration and industrialisation engineers to visiting each of the different plants involved in the project: Rueil, Lardy and Billancourt.

He says: “We considered several hypotheses – making an evolution of the 1.5-litre, using a lower-power 2-litre engine, developing an evolution of the 1.9-litre unit, or developing a new engine starting from scratch.”  

The decision was effectively made by the performance requirements and cost restrictions put on the project. It was too expensive to redevelop the 1.5-litre engine and meet the power demands, and a lower-powered 2-litre engine couldn’t meet the emissions targets. 

Visconti and his team of 160 engineers decided that the 1.9-litre engine was too old to achieve the low CO2 level required. 

“So we started from scratch,” he says. “In the first development loop we used computer simulations to define and test vibrations, thermodynamics, and combustion characteristics. This was followed by the first prototype engine, to test reliability and performance and consumption.”

The new 1.6-litre engine had to meet strict efficiency and emissions targets. Although the engine produces 97kW of power and 320Nm of torque, CO2 emissions are only 115g/km when it’s used in Renault’s Scenic MPV, and fuel consumption is only 4.4 litres/100km.

To achieve this, Visconti introduced a low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system.

“We decided to implement low-pressure EGR after the first loop of development, which was quite challenging. It was an innovation – we’re the first European manufacturer to do it, so we needed a recovery plan,” he says. 

“It was possible in this case because the first development loop is dedicated to deciding the compression ratio and packaging, so technologies like low-pressure EGR can be calibrated later. But because it was the first time for Renault, the first time in Europe, it was challenging.”

Strict targets and the introduction of new technologies made Visconti’s meetings ever more important, and increased the need for him to have as much contact with engineers on the shop floor as possible.

“We had an agenda every week. There were meetings on Monday to make sure the project was on schedule. Specific meetings for packaging issues on Tuesday. Thursday was dedicated to calibration of the engine, and there were project meetings on Friday mornings to make any other decisions,” says Visconti.

Away from the meeting rooms, Visconti remained as hands-on as possible. “Powertrain development is typically done on several sites,” he says. “The design people in Rueil, testing in Lardy, and whole-vehicle in Billancourt. So I used to go from one site to another, spending time at the testbeds. At least half a day a week was spent with people looking at tests and vehicles.” 

Although the project has now finished, Visconti’s work hasn’t as he looks to develop the next adaptation. “It’s ongoing. Because it’s a brand-new engine we call it a grandmother. The next one will be the mother, then brother and child,” he says. 

As the powertrain will be used not only for Renault but also for alliance partner Nissan, the engine will need to be adapted for light commercial vehicles and also to work with various transmission technologies, including wet dual-clutches in the future.

It may not be long before Visconti receives another product intention letter from Renault’s project division, as even greater improvements to performance and efficiency are sought.

Career moves

Education: PhD in applied mathematics, University of Grenoble, France
2000-07: Renault – Simulation department
2007-08: Renault – Powertrain NVH
2008-present: Renault – Powertrain project manager