This Horse has some serious power. Engine designer and builder Horse Powertrain has just dropped a gas-fired bomb at the Beijing auto show. It's a 3.0-liter V6 that Horse calls the lightest V6 on the market. The new engine will support hybrid assist, and it will put down well over 450 horsepower even before the electric motor lends a hand. Lightest V6 Around Delivers A Serious Kick Horse Powertrain The engine is called the Horse W30, and though it's the first production V6 from the company, it is far from being its first engine. Horse Powertrain has built more than 10 million three and four-cylinder gas engines for Renault, Mercedes-Benz, and others in the last few years.Horse says the new small-displacement V6 will spin its transmission with 470 hp on the low end and 536 hp on the high end, depending on the model it's bound for and the state of tune. Along with that, the new engine will make between 443 and 516 pound-feet of torque.That won't make it the most powerful V6 you can buy – that honor goes to the Ferrari F80's 888 hp engine – but when it comes to mainstream cars, it's near the top. It handily beats Porsche's latest V6 and competes well with the Nettuno V6 used by Maserati. It will be the lightest, though, with Horse saying the 353-pound engine is 22 pounds lighter than anything else on the market. It can even rev to 8,000 rpm, so this could be a fun-car engine, not just a powerful one.There's nothing revolutionary in the basic layout. It has a 90-degree angle between cylinder banks, which is not uncommon. It will have exhaust manifolds integrated into the cylinder heads and direct-mount turbochargers. The engine will also support transverse (front-drive) and longitudinal (rear-drive) mounting.Horse Powertrain didn't say what vehicles might get this engine first, but they did say it would be soon. The first application is expected to be on the road in 2028, and having the reveal at the Beijing show is a strong hint it will arrive in a Chinese vehicle. Horse is a joint venture between Renault and Geely, and since Renault hasn't used a V6 in years or had that much power in a gas car ever, Geely makes a lot more sense. Hybrid Boost Will Deliver Even More Power Horse Powertrain The engine was on display along with Horse's new 4LDHT four-speed hybrid transmission. That transmission, which is about 100 pounds heavier than the engine, supports a generator that produces 250–300 kilowatts of electricity and an output motor that delivers between 470 and 603 hp.So, with the engine and transmission combined... yeah, you're not the only one running the math on that. There's potential for 1,100 hp all total from a 3.0-liter V6 and electric motor, nestled in a compact package that weighs less than 800 pounds. For reference on that one, Maserati's V6 and a conventional eight-speed automatic weigh in at around 700 pounds without any hybrid assist.That's a lot of power for any Renault, but Horse also supplies Nissan, as well as Mercedes-Benz, and a host of other brands. Plus, as an engine designer and builder, it could sell this package to anyone. Whatever it ends up in, it should be interesting.
+62 others
