Renault RS01 Race Car Concept Unveiled at the Auto Expo 2016

Renault RS01 Race Car Concept

Renault RS01 race car concept unveiled at the Auto Expo 2016; embodies the French manufacturer’s state-of-the-art racing technologies

Renault Sport RS O1, showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo 2016, is a futuristic prospect for the success of the renowned French manufacturer on trackside. Launched last year as support series for the World Series by Renault 3.5 championship, it could spawn a one-make racing series with Renault relying more on customer teams to get its cars up and running for the top-tier motorsport series around the world such as WEC, DTM, ELMS and other GT championships.

Designed under the management of Laurens van den Acker, Renault Sport RS 01 sits in between the GT3 and DTM cars in terms of performance. The sculpted lines are reminiscence of the DeZir concept and early design study was conducted by Akio Shimizu taking inspirations from Renault Étoile Filante which sprinted to 300 kmph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the ‘50s.

Renault RS01 Race Car Concept 4

It is 2,000 mm wide and 1,116 mm tall with prominent Renault logo, LED daytime Running Lights fitted along the brake cooling scoops up front. The airflow is channelled to the engine’s water coolers through the grille and exits at the top via ducts, providing increased downforce. The low-slung body, larger front splitter, dive plane deflectors and side air intakes facilitate for additional aerodynamic performance by reducing the front-end drag.

Renault RS01 Race Car Concept 1

At the rear, the Renault RS 01 has twin exhausts and LED tail lamps while the curvier structure and rear diffuser aid in reducing drag and pushing the car to the ground and thus no sacrifice in top speed. It is capable of achieving aerodynamic performance closer to the DTM, the top-notch tin-top Touring Car racing series in the world. Renault claims a top speed of 300 kmph and at that point the RS can achieve similar downforce levels, 1.9 metric tonnes, to the single-seater Formula Renault 3.5 machines.

Renault RS01 Race Car Concept 2

Constructed on carbon-fibre monocoque tub(shaped like boat stem for aero efficiency), the race car’s chassis is designed and built by the famed Italian racecar constructor Dallara and it weighs only 1,100 kg. The engine is mounted centrally rear and courtesy of the alliance with Nissan it comes strapped with the Nismo 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine generating more than 500 hp and 600 Nm of torque.

The semi-stressed engine is the same found in the Nissan GTR with added dry sump and the transmission duties are taken care of by the Sadev longitudinal seven-speed sequential gearbox with preloaded self-locking differential. The clutch is developed by ZF Race Engineering and the sequential shifts are managed by XAP electromagnetic actuator.

Renault RS01 Race Car Concept 3

Steel roll cage, crash box at the front and one at the gearbox, six-point harness, HANS(Hand And Neck Support) and collapsible steering column adhere to the safety standards of the ever-exciting LMP1 endurance racing category. It boasts a regular race-car bound double wishbones pushrods and Öhlins dampers along with six-piston 380 mm carbon discs developed by PFC. It gets high-standard Bosch Motorsport ABS and rides on performance-obsessed 18-inch sticky track Michelin tyres.

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