Renault’s new racer has been revealed. The Renault Sport R.S 01 promises to be a wild, focused track machine. It’s strictly for racing purposes and the French automaker has yet to confirm the availability of a road-going derivative.
Renault has been involved in top-tier racing for decades and, more recently, their World Series championships have helped numerous talented youngsters grow into professional racers.
For 2015, Renault and its Sport Technologies arm have developed yet another racing division, one that comes with its own, exclusive race car. The R.S will compete in a new one-make Renaultsport Trophy championship in the World Series by Renault. The event is a springboard for the professional GT and Endurance championship.
Weighing less than 1100kg thanks to its Dallara-sourced carbonfire chassis, the R.S 01 has a 3.8-litre, twin-turbocharged V6 engine borrowed from the Nissan GT-R Nismo supercar.
Power is sent to the rear wheels via a Sadev sequential seven-speed transmission operated by steering wheel paddles. The clutch features an anti-stall function and is designed for an extended service life which was developed by ZF Race Engineering.
Supervised by engineer Christophe Chapelain, the R.S 01 was designed in cooperation with benchmark technical partners.
The carbon monocoque was a natural choice in order to meet objectives in terms of weight and safety. Italy’s Dallara was responsible for designing and building the chassis, in the same way as for Formula Renault 3.5.
The tub, which includes the 150 litre fuel tank, features a steel roll cage at the top. At the front, a crash box absorbs energy. Shaped like a boat’s stem, the design contributes to aerodynamic efficiency. Another crash box attached to the gearbox plays the same role at the rear of the car.
-Newspress/Neo Goba
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