This week, it appears, is all about racing. First, we brought you Daniel Simon’s passion for the sport in our exclusive video interview, we took a closer look at the design process of the LeMans-bound Ford GT in the Forza Motorsport video and now it’s all about Renault Sport, specifically the awesome carbon fiber monocoque R.S. 01.
At the end of last year, Renault Sport sent out this charming holiday video to all of its YouTube fans. Now, the racing arm of the largest French manufacturer is providing a look behind the scenes of the creation of the radical Renault Sport R.S. 01 race car.
The R.S. 01 was designed sourcing inspiration from the acclaimed DeZir concept, the first car to come out of Renault’s studio after Laurens van den Acker replaced Patrick le Quement as head of design in 2009. In his preliminary study, designer Akio Shimizu was also inspired by Renault Étoile Filante (shooting star), the record-breaking vehicle that topped 300 kph at Bonneville Salt Flats in 1956. Draped over a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, the bodywork is sensual and emotive — like the DeZir — but also aerodynamically optimized. The car’s lift coefficient and drag coefficient are similar to those of a Formula Renault 3.5, the benchmark single-seater in the World Series by Renault.
The car combines the talent of the Renault design team with the know-how of the Ulis men, sourcing power from a Nismo-tuned 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 derived from the Nissan GT-R that’s set to deliver over 500hp with maximum torque of more than 440 lb-ft. These figures position the Renault Sport R.S. 01 between a GT3 and a DTM in terms of performance. Launched at the end of 2013, the RTC15 project is now ready for its competition debut at the end of an intense development program.
In this video, the Renault Sport R.S. 01’s exterior designer Akio Shimizu, exterior design director Anthony Lo and Renault Sport design director Eric Diemert walk us through the creation of the one-off race car, highlighting the incorporation of Renault’s signature elements in its form. And, if you’ve got the time, the engineering team behind the race car also take us into further detail.
