Geschiedenis van Renault

[iwi]

zo heel af en toe kom je wel eens een paar leuke weetjes tegen in een topic, wat te maken heeft met de geschiedenis van Renault. Omdat Renault al best een tijdje meedraait en best wel leuke dingen heeft laten zien op meerdere vlakken van de auto industrie, lijkt het mij wel leuk en informatief om een topic over de geschiedenis van Reanult. Dus iedereen die iets heeft wat gaat over de achtergrond van dit merk, kan het hier droppen.

Om te beginnen heb ik een gedeelte van Renault's geschiedenis in de Formule 1 opgesnort. Het is in het Engels, want ik had niet echt veel zin om het te vertalen...

1977 - In July 1977, Renault entered a turbocharged car in an F1 race for the first time. After some difficult seasons, the combination would end up taking 20 Grand Prix victories.

Brand new technology. When the newcomer made its debut on the afternoon of 17 July, 1977, the F1 world giggled. Yellow in colour, badged with a big Renault diamond and the Elf logo, the RS01 steamed and whistled like a teapot. Its forward-thinking designers hadn't taken the simple option. For the first time in F1, they had decided to equip a car with a turbocharged engine: a tiny 1500cc forced induction unit capable of battling with the other teams' big three litre normally-aspirated engines. At the wheel was Jean-Pierre Jabouille, a driver with a hard-earned reputation for knowing how to set-up and develop a car. "Everybody was working very hard, we all believed in the project, but nobody how long it would take to get it working," explains the one-time driver with a smile. The result of the sleepless nights was a light alloy monocoque with a stressed engine and gearbox. The engine was a 90° V6 with a capacity of 1492cc (bore 86mm, stroke 42.8mm), four valves per cylinder, and fed by a single turbo. The turbo was chosen as a tried and tested technology following Renault's successful prototype programme, and also for economic reasons (the physical constraints of a turbocharged engine are smaller). The estimated power was around 500 bhp in the power band of the turbo, but barely 150 outside it.

A difficult beginning. The first contact with F1 came at Silverstone on 16 July 1977. "It was dramatic!" commented Gordini engine director François Castaing after the race. The RS01's debut was… unspectacular. "Before we had even had time to find a baseline set-up, the turbo broke," admitted Jabouille. "We quickly realised the problem was coming from the excessive temperatures generated by the exhausts: some minor developments, which had seemed beneficial in isolation, actually worked against us when they were all put together." The Renault engineers were convinced their choice was well-founded, and solved the difficulties one by one. "Problems with the intercooler meant the engine was overheating, and we were holing pistons regularly. Oil was dropping onto the exhausts and turbo, which were already operating at a temperature of around 900°C : smoke and flames were almost guaranteed," remembers Jabouille, who had to play firefighter when it happened: "I used to calmly get out of the car, and stuff one of my gloves down the exhaust. The fire stopped immediately."

Adapting your style. "When we first began running the car, the throttle lag was terrifying: full power arrived well after you had put the accelerator to the floor. The first time I tried the car, I seriously wondered how we were going to be able to make a success of it," admits Jabouille. Renault had found success with a 2 litre turbo, but reducing the capacity to 1.5l gave the manufacturer a few problems: it took even longer for the turbos to get up to speed. "You had to get on the throttle very early. Sometimes, it worked. And sometimes, the power came in suddenly, much earlier than expected: when that happened, you were spinning before you knew it! On the other hand, when I took my foot off the throttle, the car carried on going for a brief moment," explains the amused driver. "Honestly, we didn't expect things to be so complicated but having said that, we began winning in 1979, and lots of teams would dream of that just a season and a half after their debut." The driver still laughs about the particular characteristics of the first V6 turbo in F1. "In cool winter weather, our engine worked quite well. Then, at mid-season when the summer arrived, we lost lots of power." The problem would finally be solved with the advent of electronics.

What memories… If there is one memory that stands out more than others from this period, Jean-Pierre Jabouille immediately quotes the difficulty in starting the V6 at altitude: "At Kyalami, it sometimes took four or five hours to get the engine running. The compression ratios were so low that the fuel would not ignite. We had to warm everything through beforehand. It got to the point where we even considered starting the thing once every hour all through the night!"



1978 - A learning year for Renault as they got to grips with turbo technology. The French engineers had to batten down the hatches: their rewards would come the following year.

The turbo: a tricky challenge to get it working right! For Renault, the 1978 season was one of numerous retirements, and a sporting effort split between F1 and the Le Mans 24 Hours. This meant the French team didn't start a Grand Prix until South Africa, the third race of the season. Team manager Gerard Larrousse took the decision to work on getting the V6 turbo reliable without compromising the company's performance in the sportscar programme. On the F1 circuits, the '79' from Lotus was dominating the competition, taking American Mario Andretti to the world title at year's end. This was the golden age of ground effects: 'skirts' appeared which sealed the cars to the track surface, generating huge levels of downforce. The concept emerged from the brain of Colin Chapman, head of the Lotus team. During this period, the engineers' imaginations were running wild: in Sweden, Brabham ran the incredible BT46B designed by Gordon Murray. This car featured a vertical fan, which was gear driven from the primary shaft of the gearbox. Officially, this was a water cooling device; in reality, it created a mechanical ground effect: the car won its first race with Niki Lauda, and was banned immediately afterwards. F1 also welcomed two new teams in 1978: Theodore and Merzario, but also bid goodbye to BRM, the oldest active team after Ferrari.

At Watkins Glen, the sole Renault chassis entered for Jean-Pierre Jabouille finished fourth, behind Carlos Reutemann, Alan Jones and Jody Scheckter. These provided Renault's first points of the year. The 1.5l turbocharged V6 had undergone major modifications during the year, notably a mixed air/water cooling system adopted for the Austrian Grand Prix, and new pistons and piston rings.

Overall, Renault finished 12th in the Constructors' Championship, with three points. The following year, though, would see a big change: for the first time, the team would enter two cars and begin putting in top rate performances.

1979 - marked a turning point in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship, with ground-effect cars becoming widespread. The turbo concept inaugurated by Renault two years earlier also began to demonstrate its potential.

Ground effect: an awesome innovation
A whole new generation of single-seaters was born in 1979, with the dawn of ground-effect. The year before, the ground-effect Lotus 79 (driven by Mario Andretti) had dominated the championship. Following Lotus’s design, every team’s research department worked feverishly to make the aerodynamic concept their own. At the first race of the season in Buenos Aires, nine of the fifteen teams taking part used ground-effect.

Three more teams now had two drivers: René Arnoux was Jean-Pierre Jabouille's team-mate for Renault. Ligier lined up with Patrick Depailler and Jacques Lafitte, whilst Williams had Clay Regazzoni and Alan Jones.

Renault: first taste of success
After the dominance of the Lotus in 1978, the Ligier JS11, equipped with a Cosworth V8 engine, was the car to beat, Jacques Lafitte winning the first two races. At Kyalami, South Afica, Renault finally showed their strength, Jean-Pierre Jabouille securing the team’s first pole position. Even though the Renault car still had no ground-effect, it was equipped with Michelin tires on a circuit that favoured traction over aerodynamic grip. Furthermore, the high altitude of the track caused the Renault turbo engine to lose less power than the normally aspirated engines of its rivals: the French engine generated 460 horse power to the Cosworth’s 410. Unfortunately, however, it rained during the race and Jabouille could not take advantage of his turbo engine.

First victory
In Spain, Renault finally introduced ground-effect on the RS10. The chassis became more and more balanced and in Monaco the engine was given a double-turbo system. Every line of cylinders had its own turbo and the engine gained 1200rpm. The new turbos, supplied by KKK, were much smaller. The previous supplier, Garett Industry, had been unable to make them so small.

A few weeks later, the team were optimistic of achieving their first victory. On the Dijon-Prenois circuit, just less than two years after Renault first entered F1, Jean-Pierre Jabouille took their first victory, rewarding his long commitment to the team. The Frenchman began the race by going easy on his tyres, allowing Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari to escape. But on lap 47, he caught and passed the Ferrari for the lead and the win.

After Jabouilles win, Renault’s strong performances kept on coming: a front row grid position for Jabouille and second in the race for Arnoux in Great Britain; pole position in Germany for Jabouille, and poles in Austria and Holland for Arnoux. Finally, in Monza, the front row was 100 percent Renault.

With 26 points, Renault finished sixth in the constructors’ championship, just ahead of McLaren. The drivers’ championship was won by Jody Scheckter for Ferrari. René Arnoux ended up eighth and Jean-Pierre Jabouille thirteenth.

1980 - saw Renault consolidate the first successes of 1979: three wins and five pole positions as Alan Jones raced to the world title in his Williams.

After an impressive second half of the 1979 season, Williams began 1980 as favourites. Alan Jones, famous for his doggedness at the wheel, was teamed with Carlos Reutemann, fresh from a stint at Lotus. He replaced Clay Regazzoni after the latter’s performances were judged too inconsistent by Frank Williams. The 1980 season marked the loss of the Jacky Ickx, who had decided to retire from F1 at the end of the previous year. At Ligier, Didier Pironi replaced Patrick Depailler alongside Jacques Laffite. A young man named Alain Prost took his place at McLaren. And finally, four teams folded: Merzario, Rebaque, Kauhsen and Wolf. However, the season-opening Argentinian Grand Prix saw the debut of Osella.

As for the Renault Turbo, it had made significant progress during the winter. Carbon fibre components for the fuel tank, an improved powertrain assembly (five speeds instead of six) and other new developments brought gains of around 30kg. The car weighed 605kg. The bodywork was now in kevlar, not glassfibre, and had been the object of significant work in the wind tunnel. On the engine side, the valve springs and cylinder head joints had been strengthened. Right from the second race of the year in Brazil, Renault took pole position (Jabouille) and the win (Arnoux, after his team-mate retired with turbo failure). The winning car ran out of fuel just a few metres after the finish line!

At high-altitude Kyalami, the Renault’s turbo technology gifted the cars the front row because they suffered less from the drop in atmospheric pressure. Once again, René Arnoux took the race win… while Jean-Pierre Jabouille suffered a puncture while leading. Three Frenchman monopolised the podium for the first time in history: Arnoux, Laffite (Ligier) and Pironi. However, it was to be an incident-packed year in F1: during the following race, Clay Regazzoni was the victim of a terrible accident which left him without the use of his legs. The season was also marked by the nascent conflict between FISA (The International Federation of Motor Sport) and FOCA, the constructors’ association. Hostilities began after several drivers were fined for missing a briefing. The conflict was to last almost a year.

Renault finished the season fourth in the championship, with a healthy points total: after winning in Brazil and South Africa, René Arnoux took pole in Austria, Holland and Italy. Jean-Pierre Jabouille also took a win at Zeltweg (where the effectiveness of the Michelin tyres allowed the Renaults to run less downforce), and completed a 100% yelloy front row at Zandvoort and Monza. Unfortunately, Jean-Pierre also crashed at Montreal, hitting the barrier head on at 140 kph. The cause of the accident was diagnosed as a faulty wishbone. The Frenchman suffered seven fractures of his right leg, but nevertheless made his F1 comeback the following year at the wheel of a Ligier-Matra. At the end of the dramatic season, Alan Jones claimed the world title.

1981 - Two races from the end of a memorable season, and five drivers were still in the hunt for the title, including Alain Prost in his Renault Turbo. The suspense on the track proved a poignant contrast to a progressively more difficult political backdrop.

Following the conflict between the International Federation of Motorsport (FISA) and the constructors’ association (FOCA), the 1981 season got off to a dramatic start. The proposal of a dissident federation was first made by Bernie Ecclestone to put pressure on then FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre. The Englishman already possessed a number of prime assets: he was promoter of a number of races, negotiated and managed television rights, and had been representing most of the teams for ten years. However, FOCA did not accept the measures taken by the governing body in order to improve safety: the banning of ground effect ‘sliding skirts’, a minimum ground clearance of 6cm, tyre widths limited to 18cm (compared to 21cm), an increase in minimum weight from 575kg to 585kg, and the strengthening of the chassis with a cage to protect the pedal box. The crisis came to a head at the first race of the season, when the constructors’ association entered cars in conformity with the 1980 and not 1981 regulations. The race was therefore excluded from the World Championship. A short times afterwards, Ecclestone and Balestre entered into negotiations: the result was the Concorde Agreement, signed at Maranello. This didn’t see the end of the politicking, but sport at least regained the upper hand.

Carlos Reutemann, Nelson Piquet and Alan Jones were the stars of the early part of the season, sharing victories in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, San Marino and Belgium. The Williams FW07C and Brabham BT49C were clearly the class of the field. However, a young Gilles Villeneuve was also beginning to cause a stir. Exceptionally skilled at the wheel of his Ferrari, he performed miracles and the fans loved him. The new Ferrari Turbo, following the trend started by Renault, allowed the Canadian to shine at Monaco, helped on his way by a famous overtaking manoeuvre on Alan Jones into Ste. Dévôte. Villeneuve claimed another win three weeks later, at Jarama.

For Renault, Alain Prost and René Arnoux were the new driver pairing for the French manufacturer. The season was made difficult by a troubled start, with the team only scoring six points up to the Spanish Grand Prix. However, the next race saw the smiles return: at Dijon, Arnoux set pole position but fluffed his start; Alain Prost, however, hounded leader Nelson Piquet. The race was stopped following a violent storm, but at the second start, Prost raced into the lead, taking his first Grand Prix victory, and the fifth for Renault. The Frenchman took two more wins before the end of the year, at Zandvoort and Monza, which allowed him to catch the championship leaders.

Two races from the end of the season, five drivers were in the hunt: Reutemann (49 pts), Piquet (46), Jones and Prost (37), then Laffite (34). Canada, though, saw Renault’s hopes of the title expire after a collision between Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell. The championship was decided at Las Vegas, with Nelson Piquet taking the honours.

1982 - The arrival of BMW alongside Renault and Alfa Romeo brought a new dimension to F1. Unfortunately, though, it was a season tainted by tragedy.

Following in Renault’s footsteps, turbo engine proliferated in the early 1980s. In 1982, the arrival of BMW meant four manufacturers were now producing this type of engine. A small, production-derived 1.5 litre four cylinder block took its place in the back of the Brabham. The German unit had first appeared in 1981, but lacked progressive power delivery: over the winter, the team at Munich concentrated on their engine management software. The other new item was the introduction of the superlicence: drawn up by FISA and FOCA, the wording of the document included articles the drivers found unacceptable. They refused to be beaten, and would not get in the cars so long as a solution had not been found. Barricaded in a hotel, they transformed a reception room into a dormitory…just a few days before the first race.

The issue appeared to have been resolved, enabling the South African Grand Prix to take place. The six first places on the grid were taken by turbo engines, and Renault took a fine one-two finish after Alain Prost climbed from the back of the field. In Brazil, Prost took pole but had to give best to Piquet and Rosberg in the race…who were subsequently disqualified. The Frenchman thus inherited the win.

Imola, a race boycotted by the FOCA teams as a protest against FISA’s decision, saw the eruption of an internal war at Ferrari, a war that would finish with tragic consequences. Arnoux led the race ahead of Villeneuve and Pironi, but was forced to retire, leaving the way open to the Ferraris. In spite of instructions from the pits to finish in the order they were running, Villeneuve ahead of Pironi, the two drivers fought tooth and nail, and the Frenchman took the lead at the start of the final lap, leading to the finish line. Gilles Villeneuve felt betrayed and during qualifying at the next round, at Zolder, he was killed chasing pole position. One month later, Didier Pironi was himself touché by tragedy when, at the Canadian Grand Prix, his car failed to get away from the line. His car was struck at full speed by the Osella of 27 year-old Ricardo Paletti, who was killed instantly.

On the sporting front, the turbo engine was beginning to make its presence felt: Piquet took victory in Canada, Pironi in Holland. At Long Beach, Belgium and Detroit, though, the normally aspirated McLaren took the chequers first, with Lauda at the wheel in California, and John Watson mounting a title challenge on the basis of the other two successes. When Pironi won at Zandvoort, these two were the main protagonists for the title. At Monaco, Renault hit bad luck: the French cars were dominating when René Arnoux crashed. Alain Prost took the lead and was leading comfortably when he lost control of his car, and hit the barriers near the end of the race. At the French Grand Prix, though, there were no mistakes, and the yellow cars took a one-two, Arnoux ahead of Prost. More incident came at Hockenheim when, during a wet practice session, championship favourite Didier Pironi suffered a terrible accident. His legs were severely injured, and he was never to start another Grand Prix. He nevertheless had a nine point lead over John Watson at four races from the end of the season. As for Alain Prost, he was 14 points back.

The Frenchman was leading the Austrian Grand Prix when, four laps from the finish, he was forced to retire. The Renault V6 engines were equipped with electronically-assisted fuel injection, fed by an electric motor that, in spite of modifications, continued to cause problems. De Angelis took victory, just several centimetres ahead of Keke Rosberg. Several weeks later, the Finn took victory at Dijon in spite of Renault domination: Arnoux retired with a mechanical problem, while a damaged skirt hindered Prost. René Arnoux took his revenge at Monza, emerging victorious while his team-mate was once more struck down by the electrical injection motor. Rosberg thus took the championship lead and could not be dislodged: he was World Champion, with just one win. Only reliability troubles stopped Renault taking the title, and the French team entered 1983 as favourites.

1983 - During the 1983 season, F1 experienced significant regulation changes as Renault maintained competitiveness, but Alain Prost lost the championship to Nelson Piquet at the final race.

In 1983, F1 underwent major changes. First of all, skirts were banned: they had generated huge gains in downforce by effectively sucking the cars to the track surface. The drivers welcomed the news, which would also see a reduction in corner speeds and consequent improvements in safety. Wings were allowed to be placed higher, but had been reduced in size. The deformable structure at the nose increased from 30cm to 50cm, the fuel tank was re-positioned in the interests of safety, side protection of the cockpit was reinforced and minimum weight was changed from 580kg to 540kg.

After an excellent 1982 season, Renault sealed a partnership agreement with Lotus to use the French turbocharged V6. BMW, also a turbo manufacturer, supplied Brabham and ATS. Turbo technology was to win 12 of the 15 races in 1983 and at Monza, for the first time in history, turbo engines filled the top six. Furthermore, three tyre manufacturers were in competition: Pirelli (Lotus), Michelin (Renault, Brabham, Alfa Romeo, Ligier, Osella) and Goodyear (Ferrari, Williams, Tyrrell, ATS, Arrows, Theodore).

Right from the first race in Brazil, Alain Prost (now partnered by Eddie Cheever) sat on the front row for Renault. He took pole position in France several weeks later, and then the race win by using a strategy which included refuelling during the race. Before that, the French team hadn’t scored a single point. Prost won again in Belgium: the RE40 now had a 100% carbon fibre monocoque, saving 10kg, and it worked wonders. The Frenchman was catapulted into title contention, winning again at Silverstone then in Austria, the 11th race of the year.

Two weeks later, a collision between the Frenchman and Piquet saw both fail to score points and a potential win slip through Prost’s grasp. Political storm clouds started to gather when the FIA noted Brabham, Renault’s principal title rival, were using a fuel of dubious legality. The FIA fixed an octane limit of 101, which Elf and AGIP adhered to, while the fuel used by the BMW engine at Monza was measured at 102.5. However, the results were only published in December, which was too late. Brabham team principal Bernie Ecclestone would make a public apology at the end of the season.

Alain Prost was still in the thick of the title battle at the season’s penultimate race, the GP of Europe, finishing second behind rival Nelson Piquet. The title went down to the wire at Kyalami in South Africa, the final race of the season: the circuit was located at 1750m altitude, and the atmospheric conditions might have penalised the RE40’s V6 relative to the BMW’s four cylinders. Nelson Piquet needed three points to take the championship, and by finishing third, secured the title… with a two point advantage over Prost. Ferrari took the constructors’ crown, with Renault finishing second.

[img]http://www.renaultf1.com/en/images/3_14349.jpg[/img]

[Patrick]

kan je het niet ff vertalen

[iwi]

1984 - After missing out on the world title by a whisker in 1983, Renault had to face two new competitors, the Porsche and Honda turbo engines, the following year.

Two new engine manufacturers appeared in F1 for the 1984 season, with Porsche and Honda joining the ranks of other prestigious manufacturers such as BMW, Ferrari and Renault. The turbo engine was unquestionably in the ascendancy. On a technical front, the Federation introduced some changes: refuelling was banned, maximum fuel tank capacity reduced from 250 to 220 litres, extra rear-wing winglets outlawed and crash tests introduced on the deformable structure at the front of the car. The engineers found an answer to the reduced fuel capacity by cooling the fuel: this was quickly outlawed.

As for Renault, they split their resources between the works team, and engine supply to Lotus and Ligier. The V6 had undergone wide-ranging modifications. Named the EF4, it was 12 kilos lighter, and delivered between 660 and 750 horsepower according to the boost pressure (3 bars during the race, 4 bars in qualifying). Patrick Tambay and Derek Warwick lined up for the French team, but the thirsty V6 led to a number of failures: the Frenchman ran out of fuel during the first two races, and the Briton lost potential wins in Dallas and Brazil. Renault finished the season in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, with 34 points. Team manager Gérard Larrousse also gave a young French talent, Philippe Streiff, an outing at the wheel of a third RE50 in the final race of the season.

The surprise of the year was Brabham-BMW. The team had clinched the previous year’s championship with Nelson Piquet, amidst allegations concerning the legality of their fuel, but hit major technical problems: in the first six races, they retired eleven times in twelve starts. Positioning the oil radiator at the front of the car from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards solved the problem, but by then, it was too late for their championship hopes. The McLaren Tag-Porsche cars of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost took full advantage, winning five of the first six races, with only Michele Alboreto taking a win in Belgium for Ferrari. The red and white cars took twelve victories in 1984, destroying the opposition. Amidst this domination, a young Brazilian made a name for himself in the Monaco rain, at the wheel of a Toleman: one Ayrton Senna was headed for victory, and would certainly have won the race had it not been stopped before the end.

During the year, the two McLarens traded victories and, in the end, Niki Lauda took the crown… with just a half-point advantage over Alain Prost.
---

Mischien vertaal ik de bovenstaande stukken nog wel. Daar gaat alleen nogal wat tijd inzitten

[Dennis VK]

uh....sorry hoor, maar zit hier iemand op te wachten?

typ het in op google.nl en daar vind je het ook.

[da-goof]

Dit lijkt me idd een beetje overdone. Over dit onderwerp zijn er tientallen boeken geschreven. Ik denk dat het wel leuk is een topic aan te maken over de geschiedenis van renault, maar dan met leuke anecdotes of wetenswaardigheden.
Wisten jullie bijvoorbeeld dat er ooit een renault 7 geleverd is? De r3 was zeldzaam, maar volgens mij is de r7 nog veel zeldzamer. De r7 was in feite een eerste type 5 met kont. Ziet er niet uit, maar wel uniek.

http://www.r5gordini.co.uk/site/Other_5 ... _Renault_7

[John B]

over geschiedenis gesproken op deze site kan je ook hele leuke oude renaultjes kopen
http://www.autofrance.nl/index.php?s=1&start=10

[Corniels]

hij kan wel goed knippen en plakken

[robert]

[img]http://www.ebaumsworld.com/forumfun/sucks10.gif[/img]

[speedline]

[img]http://www.r5gordini.co.uk/imagescript/ ... Super7.jpg[/img]

Ken iemand hier ff een Alpine Turbo van "soepen"? Dan wordt het tenminste nog wat

[Robert]<->

[Matijs]

Wow, die ziet er strak uit!
Als ik later echt teveel ruimte in de garage heb dan wil toch ook nog wel eens zo'n R7 hebben. En er een AT van maken natuurlijk
Lekker raar

[Riël]

Gelijk. Gaat nergens over ...