Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was the

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

, performance and special vehicles division for

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

-badged cars. Renault Sport was officially established in 1976 as a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

between the

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini be ...

competition departments. It was reorganised in 2002 and 2016. In December 2021, all Renault Sport operations were merged into an

-led business unit.

History

Mondial de l'Automobile 2010, Paris - France (5058208377)

Renault Sport was created at the end of 1976, when Renault closed down the

competition department (at that time, its main motorsport division), located at

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...

, and moved all the racing activities to the Gordini factory at

Viry-Châtillon Viry-Châtillon () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon are known as ''Castelvirois'' in French. Sports The town is home to the women's fo ...

, just outside

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The Dieppe-based Alpine department specialised in the construction of race car chassis while the Viry-Châtillon-based Gordini focussed on engines. However, several conflicts emerged between them, and Renault took the decision to unify both departments into a single location in order to achieve a greater integration and harmony. The company concentrated principally on developing a car for Formula One, although it also participated in other series. In 2002, the Viry-Châtillon factory became the engine department of the

Renault F1 The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...

team and Renault Sport was moved to

Les Ulis Les Ulis () is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs (banlieue) of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris. Location Les Ulis is a new town located in the Île-de-France, in the south-west of the Par ...

and renamed Renault Sport Technologies (RST). On 3 February 2016, Renault announced a reorganisation of its racing and performance activities. The Formula One operation and RST's former motorsport branch were put under the new Renault Sport Racing division. RST's former roadcar branch at Les Ulis became the Renault Sport Cars division. In January 2021, the Alpine company announced it would absorb both Renault Sport Racing and Renault Sport Cars to form an Alpine business unit.

Rallying

Gordini-tuned Renault cars won many rallies during the 1950s and 1960s, and Alpine, being a subsidiary of Renault, won the first

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

(WRC) in 1973. In the WRC, Renault had some success with cars such as the R5 Turbo and the R17 Gordini until it left international rallying in late 1994 (although it continued competing in national and promotional rally series). The

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champions ...

was won three times by a Renault car (1999, 2004, 2005). On 21 February 2013, Renault Sport Technologies announced its official return to international rallying in the European Rally Championship.

Renault's WRC summary

† Without Renault Sport assistance.

JWRC

Off-roading

In 1979, the Marreau brothers finished in second place in the cars category at the

Rally Dakar The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...

driving a

Sinpar Sinpar was a French automobile company which was originally founded in 1907 and then restarted in 1946 by Léon Demeester.https://www.la4ldesylvie.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=354 The company before World War I built voiturettes ...

-prepared 4L

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. They won the 1982 edition with a Renault Sport backed

Renault 20 The Renault 20 ''(R20)'' and Renault 30 ''(R30)'' are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1984. The most upmarket and expensive Renaults of their time, the two cars were almost identical with regard to shee ...

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

4x4. Later, Renault Sport powered and sponsored the

Schlesser Schlesser is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Émile V. Schlesser (born 1986), Luxembourgish film director, screenwriter, composer, and multimedia artist *Jean-Louis Schlesser (born 1947), French racing driver *Jo Schlesser J ...

-Renault

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

buggies which won the 1999 and 2000 editions. The 1999 car was the first

two-wheel drive Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes Motor vehicle, vehicles with a Powertrain, drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive Engine power, power and torque from the engine, simultaneously. Four-wheeled vehicles For four-wheeled vehicles ( ...

Dakar winner.

Formula E

Renault was one of the first car manufacturers involved in the

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...

(FE) championship. For the inaugural season, Renault Sport became a technical partner of the series, also agreeing a title sponsorship deal with the

e.dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, tap water, human consumption, Industri ...

team which achieved the first FE teams' championship. Before the 2015–16 season, following the introduction of new rules allowing the development of the electric powertrains used in the FE's Spark chassis, Renault announced it would entry as a supplier for e.dams. The new powertrain manufactured by Renault Sport was named Renault ZE 15. For the 2016–17 season, Renault added the Chinese team

Techeetah DS Techeetah (, ) is a Sino- French motor racing team under ownership of SECA - China Media Capital that competes in the electric racing series, Formula E. Formula E Team Aguri principal Aguri Suzuki announced he would leave the team in April 20 ...

as a powertrain client. In October 2017, Renault Sport Racing announced it would withdraw from FE at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Results of Renault Sport as a powertrain supplier

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Formula One

Giancarlo Fisichella with Renault R26 2006 Malaysia

From 1977 to 1986 and again between 1989 and 1997, Renault Sport was in charge of Renault's Formula One programme. Renault Sport F1, created at the end of 2010 and active until 2015, was a subsequent incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula One and was headquartered in Viry-Châtillon, which functioned as a semi-independent operation. In 2016, the Formula One operation became part of Renault Sport Racing. In September 2020, the Renault company said it would repurpose the F1 team to promote Alpine.

Formula Two

Alpine constructed various chassis and prepared engines for

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

(F2). In 1973, Renault-Gordini (later Renault Sport) introduced a two-litre V6 engine for F2, the CH, which was the basis of its future Le Mans and F1 engines.

Jean-Pierre Jabouille Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (born 1 October 1942) is a French former racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabouil ...

and

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...

won the 1976 and 1977

European Formula Two Championship The European Formula Two Championship was a Formula Two motor racing series that was held between 1967–84. The races were held across Europe, and were contested both by drivers aiming to compete in Formula One in the future as well as curren ...

s with Renault-powered cars.

Results of Renault Sport as an engine supplier

=1976

= (

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

=1977

= (

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Note: During this season Scuderia Everest also entered Renault-powered cars, although those were not supplied by Renault Sport.

Formula Three

Gordini and Alpine-tuned Renault engines were used in various

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

(F3) series since the 1960s. Alpine (a partially owned subsidiary of Renault since 1973) also developed cars for the category. In 1979,

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Mich ...

won the

FIA European Formula Three Championship The FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a European Formula Three(F3) auto racing competition, organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). After one season of the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy, the FIA revived th ...

with a Renault engine prepared by

Oreca ORECA (Organisation Exploitation Compétition Automobiles) is a French racing team and race car constructor, founded in 1973 and run by Hugues de Chaunac, former team manager of F1 team AGS. Oreca has had success in many areas of motorsport. ...

. The last victory of a Renault engine before its withdrawal from the formula at the end of 2003 was in the 2003 Macau Grand Prix with a

Sodemo Sodemo Moteurs is a motor vehicle engine tuning company based in Magny-Cours, near Nevers, France, owned by Guillaume Maillard. Formed in 1981, and based within the ground of the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Sodemo is most associated with the tun ...

-tuned unit from a

Signature Team Signatech, formerly known as Signature, is a French auto racing team and racing car constructor that competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team won the FIA European Formula Three Cup in 1999 with Benoît Tréluyer. It won the F ...

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

car driven by

Nicolas Lapierre Nicolas Lapierre (born 2 April 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He raced with Toyota and with Alpine Racing in the past seasons of the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, with overa ...

Rétromobile 2018 - Renault Alpine A442B - 1978 - 006

Renault Sport Technologies announced its return to F3 as an engine supplier with Oreca again as engine tuner for the 2014 FIA European Formula Three Championship. However, this was indefinitely halted because of the lack of power of the Oreca-tuned engine compared to rivals.

Sportscars

Renault Sport was responsible for Renault's

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

entries during the 1970s, including their win at the

1978 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 46th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1978. In many ways it was a continuation of the race from the year before – the two main protagonists would be the very evenly-matched works team ...

race with the

Renault Alpine A442 The Renault Alpine A442 (also known as the Alpine Renault A442 ) is a sports prototype racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Variants wer ...

Touring cars

Capitalising on the growing reputation and success of the

Super Touring Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created ...

regulations introduced in the early 1990s, Renault made the decision to enter the

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...

in 1993 with reigning champion

Tim Harvey Tim Harvey (born 20 November 1961) is a British racing driver, best known for being the 1992 British Touring Car Champion, and the 2008 and 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain champion. A household name in the 1990s, Harvey won sixteen race ...

and

Alain Menu Alain Menu (born 9 August 1963) is a Swiss racing driver who is currently working for Team BMR as a driving coach. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice ...

signed as their drivers. Renault's first BTCC effort was based on the

Renault 19 The Renault 19 is a small family car that was produced by the French car manufacturer Renault between 1988 and 1996. In Turkey and in Argentina, production continued until 2000. The internal development code for the 19 was X53, with the five doo ...

chassis, initially developed by test driver

Jean Ragnotti Jean "Jeannot" Ragnotti (born 29 August 1945 in Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaucluse), is a French former rally driver for Renault in the World Rally Championship. Ranking among his achievements are his conquering of the Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, wh ...

. Success was almost immediate as Harvey and Menu scored a win each in 1993, before the 19 was replaced with the new

Renault Laguna The Renault Laguna is a large family car that was manufactured and marketed by Renault for 21 years in three body styles: hatchback, coupé, and estate. The first generation Laguna was launched in 1994, the second generation was introduced in 200 ...

for 1994. The Laguna lent itself as a more competitive proposition than its predecessor and went on to be a highly successful car throughout its racing life, the highlight being in 1997 when Alain Menu took 12 victories on his way to the championship.

Hillclimbing

In 2011, a

Dacia Duster The Dacia Duster is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since 2010. It is currently in its second generation, launched in the autumn of 2017. It is marketed a ...

car prepared for Renault Sport Technologies, Sodemo and Tork Engineering and fitted with a

Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alth ...

engine participated at the

Pike's Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou Spr ...

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

Car manufacturing

Renault - Clio RS - Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2012 - 003

In 1994, Renault discontinued the Alpine marque, badging since then its sport cars manufactured at the Dieppe factory as Renault Sport. The production of Renault Sport cars for the mainstream markets at Dieppe ended in 2018. Renault Sport models are also produced at Renault Spain's Palencia factory ( Mégane Renault Sport).

Current models

* Clio GT/RS line * Megane GT/RS Line * Megane Renault Sport * Twingo GT * Arkana RS line * Captur RS line *Sandero RS (only South America)

Divisions

Renault Sport is in charge of the conception and manufacturing of the Gordini-badged sport cars and also of modifying cars and vans for special purposes (transporting people with reduced mobility, driving school cars, business fleets) through its division Renault Tech.

Sites

*Les Ulis (car development, management) *Viry-Châtillon (racing car development, marketing)

Activities

*Manufacturer of limited edition sport and special purpose models *Competitor in motorsport events, for example: **Rallying **Organisation of single-model vehicle championships *Organiser or/and sponsor of the

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

national and international championships *Organiser of the

Renault Sport Series The Renault Sport Series (formerly known as World Series by Renault) is a motor racing series. The series latterly consisted of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and used to contain the Renault Sport Trophy and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The ...

on circuits *Former shareholder in

SMA Engines SMA Engines (Société de Motorisations Aéronautiques) is a French manufacturer of Diesel engines for light aircraft, located in Bourges. A subsidiary of Safran, SMA engine production is currently limited to one model, the SMA SR305-230, whic ...

; an aircraft engine manufacturer, an alliance of RST,

EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

and

SAFRAN Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA and ...

Alberto Hevia Rallye Principe de Asturias

Championships

Renault Sport organises several national and international one-make racing championships. *

2.0L and 1.6L *

Renault Clio Cup The Renault Clio Cup Series is a one-make racing series created and managed by Alpine Racing (until 2020 known as Renault Sport). The championship was born after merge the 4 active Renault Clio national cups at that moment plus the Clio Cup E ...

Dacia Logan Cup The Dacia Logan Cup is a One-Design, One-make racing lowcost series created and managed by Renault Sport. It uses Dacia Logan cars and takes place in Germany, France, Romania and Russia. The purpose of the series is to make motorsports accessible ...

International

Many international subsidiaries of Renault have their own Renault Sport division, including Renault UK,

Renault Argentina Renault Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault. It is one of the oldest Renault operations in the world and is ranked consistently in first place by sales between the local automakers. Renault Argentina was off ...

, Renault Spain and Renault Italy, among others.

Renault in motorsport

Renault is also involved in other racing series but not as Renault Sport. *

Renault Clio The Renault Clio () is a supermini car (B-segment), produced by French automobile manufacturer Renault. It was launched in 1990, and entered its fifth generation in 2019. The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being consis ...

** French Super Production Championship ** Belgian Procar Championship **

BTCC The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

with Renault Laguna Williams ** Endurance Touring Car Series *

Renault Mégane The Renault Mégane () is a small family car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault for model year 1996, and was the successor to the Renault 19. The Mégane has been offered in three- and five-door hatchback, saloon, coupé, converti ...

Renault Fluence The Renault Fluence is a compact sedan produced by the French automaker Renault. The car was produced until 2016 at the Oyak-Renault plant in Bursa, Turkey. It was produced until the end of 2018 in Santa Isabel, Argentina, for the Latin American ...

TC2000 The TC2000 (''Turismo Competición 2000'', formerly ''Súper TC2000'') is a touring car racing series held in Argentina since 1979. Rules Prior to 2012, engines of up to were allowed, with only limited modifications from standard engines. ...

Argentina (1984–2011, currently the participation is in charge of the local Renault Sport branch). *

Renault Spider The Renault Sport Spider is a roadster produced by the French automaker Renault Sport (a subsidiary of Renault) between 1996 and 1999. Project The idea for the Renault Spider was formulated in the early 1990s: in the midst of a revival after a ...

: ** Spanish GT Championship (1999?–2000?) *

Renault 8 Gordini The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) and Renault 10 are two rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s. The 8 was launched in 1962, and the 10, a more upmarket ver ...

: ** Springbok Series (1966–1971) *

Renault 4CV The Renault 4CV (french: quatre chevaux, as if spelled ''quat'chevaux'') is a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive, 4-door economy supermini manufactured and marketed by the French manufacturer Renault from August 1947 through July 1961. It was the ...

24 hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

(1949–1954) 24 Hours of Le Mans
''classicscars.com'' **

Renault Alpine A110 The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a " berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door berline, better-known as a coupé. The ...

: In 1971 Alpine achieved a 1–2–3 finish in the Monte Carlo rally, using cars with engines derived from the

Renault 16 The Renault 16 (R16) is a D-segment family hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The Renault 16 was the first French winner of the European Car of the Year award. Market placement In the early 1 ...

. In 1973, they repeated the 1–2–3 Monte Carlo result and went on to win the World Rally championship outright.

References

External links

V6 Clio owners club

Clio 16v owners club

Renault Sport Italia

Renaultsport Megane range site

ClioSport owners club

Clio197 owners club
{{Authority control Companies based in Paris-Saclay Official motorsports and performance division of automakers 24 Hours of Le Mans teams French auto racing teams Super GT teams French racecar constructors Intercontinental Rally Challenge teams European Rally Championship teams British Touring Car Championship teams World Rally Championship teams