Despite Renault's longstanding involvement in Formula One, it doesn't produce the kind of road-going sports cars that its on-track rivals Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren do. But it does produce the Renaultsport RS 01.
Designed specifically for the track, the RS 01 straddles the divide between a GT car adapted to racing and purpose-built racing prototype. At its heart sits the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Nissan GT-R, placed in the middle of a carbon-fiber tub with all the competition-spec accoutrements you'd expect: inboard suspension, sequential gearbox, downforce greater than its own curb weight at speed... the works. It was originally envisioned for Renault's own spec racing series, but it's now being adapted to GT3 regulations. Only by "adapted," we mean reined in, since the RS 01 runs a few seconds per lap faster than most GT3 competitors.
Much of what we see on (and even more of what we don't see) is anticipated to find its way into the forthcoming Alpine sports car that Renault is expected to unveil next month. But before that happens, the French automaker let Evo take a few laps in the beast around the Jerez circuit in southern Spain. Fortunately he took a video camera or two along for the ride, and you can check out the results in the five-minute clip above.
Designed specifically for the track, the RS 01 straddles the divide between a GT car adapted to racing and purpose-built racing prototype. At its heart sits the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Nissan GT-R, placed in the middle of a carbon-fiber tub with all the competition-spec accoutrements you'd expect: inboard suspension, sequential gearbox, downforce greater than its own curb weight at speed... the works. It was originally envisioned for Renault's own spec racing series, but it's now being adapted to GT3 regulations. Only by "adapted," we mean reined in, since the RS 01 runs a few seconds per lap faster than most GT3 competitors.
Much of what we see on (and even more of what we don't see) is anticipated to find its way into the forthcoming Alpine sports car that Renault is expected to unveil next month. But before that happens, the French automaker let Evo take a few laps in the beast around the Jerez circuit in southern Spain. Fortunately he took a video camera or two along for the ride, and you can check out the results in the five-minute clip above.
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