Renaultsport Unveils R.S. 01 Racecar

Teaser images of the new Renault race car hit the scenes a month ago and the company has finally revealed what the car will look like. Renault unveiled the R.S. 01 racecar which features a LMP1-eligible carbon fibre monocoque.

The Renault R.S. 01 racecar boasts a carbon monocoque which meets LMP1 regulations and has been developed in collaboration with Dallara. Renault says that the R.S. 01 weighs less than 1,100 kg and will see the Nissan GT-R's twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 engine tweaked by Nismo packing more than 500bhp and 600 Nm of torque.

The body is made of composites and will see a front lower splitter which will channel air flow into extractors installed behind the front wheels. At the rear there's a massive wing and diffuser as well as LED taillights and a twin exhaust arrangement.

All the 500+bhp of Renault's R.S. 01 will be sent to the rear axle via a seven-speed Sadev sequential gearbox allowing the vehicle to hit a top speed of more than 300 km/h. It rides on 18-inch Braid wheels shod in specially developed Michelin tyres while braking duties are handled by 380mm carbon discs with six-piston calipers.

Other features worth mentioning include a steel roll cage and a double wishbone + pushrods suspension together with two-way Ohlins adjustable dampers. Patrice Ratti, CEO of Renault Sport Technologies, says, "The R.S. 01 is a marriage between the beauty of Renault DeZir and the performance of Formula Renault 3.5!" while Alain Prost, Renault Ambassador for motorsport describes it as "a spectacular racing car, in the purest tradition of GT."

The Renault R.S. 01 is 4710mm long, 2000mm wide and 1166mm tall, with a 2744mm wheelbase and 1675mm front & 1624mm rear tracks. The car will be used in the World Series by Renault in a new championship called Renaultsport Trophy.