It works underwater and outperforms Toyota: Renault’s new hybrid engine delivers up to 1,128 horsepower

10/09/2026 11:00

Updated to

10/09/2026 17:07

When Renault Group and Geely created HORSE in May 2024, it was already announced that the company would focus on developing internal combustion engines for use in hybrid or plug-in hybrid systems, which would be installed in various models from both groups.

Was it a challenge to Toyota, the king of hybrid engines? Not so much, but rather an effort to develop a technology that will be essential in the coming years. And together with other engines—such as this ultra-efficient one developed alongside Repsol—it is already showing results. Yes, Renault and Geely’s latest engine is already used in this powerful 1,128 CV hybrid SUV manufactured by the Chinese brand. But more important details have just been revealed: first, it outperforms Toyota in terms of efficiency; second, it can function underwater!

Renault’s Engine That Doesn’t Stop Under Water

We’re talking about the B20 engine from HORSE, a 2.0 Turbo four-cylinder engine designed specifically to be used in hybrid systems, plug-in hybrids, or even as a generator in an electric vehicle with extended range or EREV configuration. According to HORSE, this engine developed by Renault and Geely can deliver between 190 and 252 horsepower and 300 to 380 Nm of torque, depending on the specifications.

And the best part is that it works under water. Weighing around 130 kg, Renault and Geely have equipped this engine with an IPX8 water resistance rating—something you’re familiar with from your smartphone—achieved by implementing specific sealing measures for most components and electrical sensors, as well as a specialized seal between the engine and the transmission.

The result? Geely has just unveiled a formidable hybrid SUV with up to 1,128 HP—this engine is supplemented by several electric motors—that can ascend slopes as steep as 45º. It’s also practically “waterproof” at any depth of flooding, as per Renault and Geely, since this engine can continue operating even when submerged up to 1.1 meters deep.

And it outperforms a Toyota hybrid in efficiency

As we explained in the article about the 1,128 HP hybrid SUV, Geely has announced that with this engine developed in collaboration with Renault, it hopes its “large hybrid SUVs” – and by that, in the context of Chinese models, we’re talking about true giants – will achieve fuel consumption around 5.0 L/100 km.

A major factor behind this is the thermal efficiency of this new engine, which reaches 48.4%, and as Carscoops points out, it surpasses the efficiency of a standard Toyota Prius hybrid engine, which is around 40%.

Regardless, this superior thermal efficiency to Toyota is, “curiously,” the same one that Renault’s partner in HORSE announced a few months ago for the world’s most efficient hybrid engine; which leads us to suspect that Geely already had a very specific specification for this B20 engine manufactured together with Renault.