New RenaultSport R.S. 01 Racer Photo and Video Teased

[JHF]

Here's our first (digital) look at Renault's upcoming racecarthat will compete in the World Series by Renault championship from next year. The French firm also revealed the name of the sports car that has been christened the R.S. (for Renault Sport) 01.
Moscow Motor Show on August 27 when Renault will show the R.S. 01 for the first time in public.

Renault has been a bit cryptic about the R.S. 01's specifications and the only thing we know for now is that the Trophy car will be built around a carbon monocoque with power coming from a Nissan NISMO-sourced engine producing over 500-horses, connected to a 7sp sequential gearbox from Sadev. The automaker has said that it is targeting a weight of around 1,100 kg or 2,435 pounds.

The 2015 World Series by Renault will kick off next April and will be completed in nine rounds.

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[Bucketslash11]

Renault reveals Renaultsport R.S. 01 racer in official pics

The Renaultsport R.S. 01 racing car has been revealed at the 2014 Moscow Motor Show
Renault has revealed a new 493bhp racing car at the Moscow Motor Show called the Renaultsport R.S. 01. The new model is built around a carbon monocoque, weighs less than 1,100kg and can hit more than 186mph.

The R.S. 01 will take part in the Renaultsport Trophy from 2015, as part of the World Series by Renault. Its billed as ‘a springboard for the professional GT and Endurance championships.’

While not based on any of Renault’s existing production cars there’s a definite likeness to the Renault DeZir all-electric concept car, first revealed at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. In fact, CEO of Renault Sport Technologies Patrice Ratti describes the R.S. 01 as “a marriage between the beauty of Renault DeZir and the performance of Formula Renault 3.5.”

That likeness is no coincidence, either, with both cars being designed by Renault’s Vice President of Design, Laurens van den Acker. But the low-slung design doesn’t just look good; it also plays a part in directing air around the car. It flows through the centre of the grille before being channeled towards two water coolers and released out of two vents in the hood, creating downforce at the front end.

At the rear, that huge wing clearly plays its part in boosting downforce, but so does the rear diffuser nestled at the bottom of the car. Sitting just above it are stylish twin exhausts and a flowing LED light design that stretches across the back of the R.S. 01.

As for what sits underneath the body, it’s a carbon fibre tub designed by Dallara, featuring a steel roll cage and a 150-litre fuel tank. The suspension is a double wishbone set-up, featuring pushrods and Ohlins dampers, while the brakes are 380mm carbon discs.

And power comes from a 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo engine derived from the one used in the Nissan GT-R. With 493bhp, Renault says the R.S. 01 sits somewhere between a GT3 car and a DTM car in terms of performance.

The Renaultsport Trophy championship itself is a Pro-Am event, offering prize money for the best drivers and teams in each round. Meanwhile, the season champion of the Pro category wins the chance to get a rookie test with the official Nismo team at the Super GT in Japan. In the Am category, the champion has the chance to drive in the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP2 prototype.

Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renaul...rt-rs-01-racer-in-official-pics#ixzz3BfHTnmHX

 

[Bucketslash11]

Renaultsport R.S. 01: Like a French R8 with GT-R power
Street-performer looks belie 2425-lb weight and Godzilla muscle.

The foreign press is fawning over the new Renaultsport R.S. 01, Renault's new one-make-series entrant that will surely excite tens of French fans. The World Series by Renault's Renaultsport Trophy class is the particular flavor of racing, and the R.S. 01 will comprise the length and breadth of its entrants. It's a shame the thing looks a bit like an Audi R8 wearing evil mime paint, and that it's not going to dice it up against anything other than itself, because the specs are promising.

Under its mime getup, there's a Dallara carbon-fiber monocoque featuring an integral roll cage and fuel cell. The composite bodywork wraps over a NISMO-supplied 3.8 liter twin-turbo V6. If that engine sounds familiar to you, it should be: it's the Nissan GT-R's mill, paired to a Sadev sequential 7-speed transaxle out back. The V6 makes something north of 500 hp, and the whole thing weighs 2425 lbs. It should certainly be quick.

Renault and Nissan view this as a stepping stone to other efforts in a variety of series: GT, DTM, ELMS, WEV, and Super GT. In fact, winners in this particular Renaultsport Trophy class will have a shot at testing with the NISMO Super GT outfit, and the winner of the amateur class will get a chance to race an LMP2 car at Le Mans in 2016.

Nifty for those guys? Sure. But it's boring for us Americans, if I'm being honest. Make this a Super GT300 car, bring it to the US in a joint DTM-Super GT race, and maybe you get folks to pay attention. And do something about that mime paint, will you?

http://www.roadandtrack.com/go/first-looks/first-look-renaultsport-rs-01-race-car