You could probably count on one hand the number of automobile manufacturers still around today who were at the forefront of the industry at the start of the twentieth century. You would need even fewer fingers to count those who can boast a Grand Prix win at either end of that time span. One such manufacturer is Renault, the charismatic French manufacturer who can really say with hand on heart, that they have done it all.
Renault selected the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed at which to celebrate their unrivalled achievement, and John Brydon, the man responsible for the rebuild of the 1906, car was on hand to demonstrate its capabilities. Brydon is busy tracing the origins of the engine supplied for the rebuild by the Science Museum in London, believing that it might be the actual engine used to win the world’s first Grand Prix back in 1906 by Renault.
Back in 1906, nobody would have been so brave as to predict the heights to which the automobile has risen, the challenges it has conquered and the advances made in safety, speed and durability. Charting the differences between the Grand Prix winning 1906 Renault AK 90CV and the current 2006 Formula 1 winning car, only serves to highlight the incredible advances made in both the mechanical as well as the materials side of Grand Prix race car construction.
In 1906, the Renault AK 90CV, powered by a straight 4-cylinder engine with a capacity of 12,829cc and generating 90hp, turned in a top speed of approximately 150km/h. With a three-speed gearbox and no rear axle differential, the mechanical advantage that this vehicle had over the opposition was put down to the hydraulic dampers developed by Renault himself, which softened the impact on the tyres around the bumpy Le Mans circuit. Renault also used Michelin’s new detachable rims, thereby significantly reducing the time spent changing tyres as a result of the numerous punctures incurred.
In 2005, Renault’s R25 Formula 1 winning race car gave driver Fernando Alonso his first World Drivers Championship title. Powered by a 72° V10 of 3-litre capacity, the R25 engine could rev to 18,000rpm and was capable of speeds in excess of 320km/h. Compared with the 1906 car which weighed in at 1,070kg, the R25 tipped the scales at an anorexic 605kg which included the driver, a camera and ballast weight. Where the pioneering AK 90CV was sturdily constructed with a heavy steel chassis, the backbone of the R25 consisted of an extremely strong moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque.
But a lot of water has passed under the bridge between the first Grand Prix winning car and the highly sophisticated Renault Formula 1 car of today. More than most manufacturers, Renault have arguably always been at the forefront of racing technology across a wide range of racing categories from Grand Prix race cars to rally, from saloon car racing to Formula Renault and almost everything else in between.
It was in 1980 that Renault introduced their RE20, a potent but fragile race car that brought them three Grand Prix wins in that year. The ‘20’ was the forerunner of a line of cars which was improved upon each year including the RE30, RE40 and RE50 which was by now developing in the order of 750bhp through its Garrett turbochargers. Despite the stringent and ever-increasing FIA restrictions, manufacturers always seemed to find a way forward and Renault’s 3-litre RS25 engine that powered Alonso to his first title in 2005 produced in excess of 800bhp. Renault won successive Formula 1 Constructors titles from 1992-1997, making their engine the benchmark during the V10 era. Their 2006 engine, the RS26, was a different Formula 1 engine configuration altogether as the FIA sought to contain speeds which resulted in the new V8 of 2,400cc weighing only 95kg, and being substantially down on earlier power levels.
But it was not only Formula 1 that brought Renault recognition. Both the R8 Gordini (1965), which won the Tour de Corse on its debut outing and the R10 (1967), were formidable contenders in their saloon classes around the world in both circuit and rally events. The ‘Alpine’ A110, available in 1.3 and 1.6-litre engine configuration, was also a significant player in the European rally scene in the mid-1970s. The potent Renault R5 Turbo 4-wheel drive was to carry this mantle when in 1981 it won the Monte Carlo rally against all expectations.
While it was Renault’s Formula 1 turbo era that captured the world’s attention in the 1980s, the company’s finest period of sustained victory was during their partnership with Williams. The V10-powered Williams-Renault produced several World Champions such as Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost. A brief partnership with Benetton in the mid-1990s gave later champion Michael Schumacher a taste of what it was like to win with a winning team. In Damon Hill’s Championship-winning year with the French manufacturer (1996), Jacques Villeneuve was runner up also in a Williams-Renault, but after Williams dropped Hill in 1997, Jacque Villeneuve bounced back for Renault taking the Formula 1 Driver’s title that year with seven wins.
Renault’s record in Formula 1 is about as good as you can get, with their cars winning ninety-two Grands Prix between the years 1979 to 1997 alone. In 1997 Renault withdrew from Formula 1 but in a move to return to the sport, the company purchased the Benetton Formula Ltd team in 2000. Under the leadership of former Benetton boss, Flavio Briatore, Renault Sport quickly brought on board other experts in the field including Jordan’s chassis man, Mike Gascoyne, also appointing Jean-Jaques His as head of the engine group.
One hundred years after Hungarian Szisz won the 1906 French Grand Prix in a Renault AK 90CV at Le Mans, Renault was once again victorious with Alonso taking the World Driver’s title behind the wheel of his R25, his second world title in as many years. Such records are few and far between in any sport, and one can only but admire Renault’s extraordinary sporting achievements over the past century.
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