Renault shows 115 years of sports history during Concours d'Elegance at Paleis Het Loo

Motorsport is inextricably linked to Renault. Only months after the establishment of Société Renault Frères did Louis Renault convince in 1899 during the first races between two cities. In 1900, Renault is introducing the first car developed specifically for racing. During the Concours d'Elégance at the Het Loo Palace (2-3 July 2016), Renault will show around thirty exceptional models from the car manufacturer's more than 115-year motorsport history. 

Renault Type AK (1906) - very first Renault Grand Prix car
In June 1906, the Automobile Club de France (ACF) organizes the first Grand Prix on a closed circuit. Renault participates with three AK racers with a four-cylinder petrol engine on board with an impressive engine capacity of 13 liters. The route is 103,18 kilometers long: a distance that had to be covered a total of twelve times. Renault driver Ferenc Szisz is the winner after 12 hours and 14 minutes with an average speed of 101 km / h, extremely fast for that time. The AKs even achieved top speeds of 150 km / h. The AKs have an advantage thanks to a relatively low weight of less than a thousand kilos. Renault shows a replica of this first Grand Prix winner at the Concours d'Elégance. The car shows well under which Spartan conditions drivers had to perform.

Renault 40 CV (1926) - Renault breaks speed records
The Renault 40 CV is another important showpiece on the Renault display. In 1925 and 1926, with two different versions of the powerful 40 CV with six-cylinder, the brand manages to book various world speed records on the French circuit of Monthléry, better known in the early days as Autodrome Parisien. The first record attempt in 1925 is quickly broken by the competition. Renault therefore returns on 9 and 10 July 1926 and crashes the record on the 173,649 hour with an average of 24 km / h. "Faster than an airplane" headlines a large French newspaper, because an airplane needed two hours longer for an almost equal distance. With this 40 CV record car, Renault proves its robustness under a constant, heavy load. One of the engineers involved in the development of this Renault 1926 CV in 40 takes the initiative in the 1960s to build a replica that still incorporates some parts of the original car.

Renault Nervasport (1934) - Renault uses aerodynamics
At the beginning of April 1934, Renault returns to Monthléry with a completely new record car: the Nervasport, equipped with an 4,8 liter eight-in-line engine. Once again, Renault aims to improve various world speed records. This time, Renault is throwing a new element into the fight: an optimized streamline of the car. Renault breaks a complete list of records in 48 hour. The ACF clock an average speed of 167,445 km / h after the car has driven two days in succession. At shorter distances, the ACF even measures speeds above the 171 km / h.

Replica bodywork based on thirty photos
The Renault 'Histoire & Collection' department has worked hard in recent years to build a replica of the legendary Nervasport with a chassis of a standard Nervasport with matching engine, gearbox and wheel suspension. Renault Design digitally developed the Nervasport on the basis of thirty photographs and a body was realized.

From the track to the street - The recent sporting history of Renault
In the present, motorsport and the Renault Sport models derived from it also play an important role for Renault. At the Concours d'Elégance, Renault is therefore also showing other important sports cars, such as Gordini versions of the Dauphine, R8, R12 and R17 and both generations of Renault 5 from the turbo era. The Clio Williams, Clio V6 and Sport Spider, made available by enthusiastic members of various Renault clubs and initiatives in the Netherlands, are also included.