Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

Renault
confirms
interest
in Sarich
engine
By ROBIN BROWN,
Motoring Editor
Renault Australia
Pty Ltd confirmed yes-
terday that it "was
definitely interested in
using the Sarich orbital
engine in a car to be
produced wholly in
Australia.
A spokesman for the
company said by telephone
from Melbourne yesterday
that Renault had discussed
with Mr Ralph Sarich, the
Perth engineer who in-
vented the engine, the pos-
sibility of using it in a
Renault car to be built in
Australia.
However, no agreement
had been reached on the
subject.
"I have only three things
to say. Yes, we are inter-
ested [in the engine]. Yes,
we've talked to Mr Sarich.
And no, we have not
reached any agreement",
he said.
The Canberra Times re-
ported on Saturday that
Renault would announce
soon plans to produce an
all-Australian car within
the next two years which
would use the Sarich
orbital engine.
The Broken Hill Pro-
prietary Co Ltd, which has
an agreement with Mr Sar-
ich and his two partners
to develop and produce the
engine should it prove
feasible, has said it would
back such a project with a
financial investment of up
to $50 million.
A spokesman for BHP
would not confirm or deny
on Friday that any nego-
tiations had taken place
with Renault over pur-
chase of the engine. How-
ever, a spokesman for the
company denied yesterday
a Sydney newspaper re-
port that BHP would even-
tually produce a "people's
car" using the Sarich en-
gine.
Renault's interest in the
engine, which is said to
have only 10 moving parts
and to be extremely cheap
to produce, lies in the Fed-
eral Government's policy
of phasing out local
assembly plants now in op-
eration by several car
companies in Australia.
The policy calls for the
phasing out by the end of
1974 of all assembly
plants with less than an
85% Australian content.
To remain in produc-
tion in Australia after
that date Renault would
have to raise its small
local content drastically.
The main avenue to ac-
complishing this is by
building engines in Aus-
tralia.
This would involve a
huge financial investment;
two Japanese firms which
recently announced their
intention to take part in
full manufacturing in
Australia will spend
about $25 million each to
establish engine plants in
Melbourne.
Renault, however, could
buy its Australian-made
engines directly from BHP
which has agreed to pro-
duce them should the
prototype testing prove
their feasibility.
Should this fail to
satisfy the Government's
85% regulations Renault
and BHP would probably
take part in a joint ven-
ture to produce the en-
gines with BHP naturally
being the senior partner
and supplying the facilities
to produce the engines.
Details of the Sarich
engine, which was an-
nounced about the middle
of last year, are a closely
guarded secret. However,
Mr Sarich has said that
he will announce the tech-
nical details of it later this
month in conjunction with
the Royal Automobile-
Club of Western Aus-
tralia. The RACWA has
stood strongly behind Mr
Sarich in the venture
since its inception.
$