Renault has unveiled its LMP-1 spec R.S 01 race car at the 2014 Moscow Motor Show. Developed in collaboration with Dallara, this is a 500bhp race car which will headline its own one-make race championship under the French automaker’s ‘World Series by Renault’ moniker.
Technical wizardry is the name of the game in this car’s existence as it is mostly made of carbon fibre making it weigh less than 1.2 tonnes. The design is low slung and long with lots of aerodynamic bits including a complicated front splitter that the company says will channel air into extractors installed behind the front wheels. They run along the doors and change shape at the back to funnel air to the intercooler.It gets a steel roll cage with a combination of a double wishbone and pushrod suspension underpinning the car.
However, the R.S 01’s party piece and something that we find most exciting is that it will be powered by the same engine from the Nissan GT-R. Yes, we are talking about the 3.8-litre twin-turbo (tweaked by NISMO) V6 engine which has been tuned to produce 500bhp and 600Nm of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed sequential gearbox. It rides on 18-inch wheels and tyres developed specially for it by Michelin.
The car has been priced at 282,000 GBP (Rs 2.8 crore) and will make its first appearance in its own racing series in mid-2015.The first winner in the PRO category will be given a chance to participate in the Super GT series in Japan while the ‘Am’ champion will get a chance to take part in the 2016 24 Hour of Le Mans.
