Renault World Series - Silverstone. Part 4

[Colin]

Renault brought along a good selection of cars from their own "Histoire et Collection", which were housed in a giant marquee for most of the day.

Dating from 1898, this is one of the very earliest, and tiniest Renaults ever made:







This 1911 AX model was one of three at the event, as 2 owners brought theirs along as well. All three puttered their way around the circuit at a very sedate speed indeed, to the approbation of the crwod.





Also dating from 1911 was this larger CH model.





Absolutely amazing was this 1926 40CV NM model record car. Endowed with a 9 litre supercharged engine, it was capable of 190 km/h, and with a very high up letter box like windscreen being the only way of seeing where you are going, must have been a fairly terrifying thing to drive. It did participate in the parade on Sunday, and the rumble from its engine was quite unlike the sound of any other car at the event.







More elegant was this 1935 VivaStella model:





By 1934, a "sports" model had arrived in the "Viva" range, the Viva Sport



The other part to this display comprised a collection of more overtly sporting cars, and these were taken out on the track for several rather more fast-paced laps. None was more fun than the R5 Maxi Turbos:









The Renault-Alpine A110 was a very successful competition car in the 1960s and early 1970s, including notables at Monte Carlo:





Not quite such a success was the short-lived Renault Sport Spider:





This Alpine A442B was the 1978 Le Mans winning car:





This RE040 Formula 1 car dates from 1983, and it was piloted aorund the trackby none other than Rene Arnoux




Since the event is funded by Marketing, it is not surprising to find an area with new Renaults on show, and there were some models new to the UK making their debut.

The Clio Sport Tourer, for instance.

Not a car I particularly liked, and when I came across the truly horrid blobs of nasty blue plastic on the dash, I moved quickly on.



To the Koleos. Although an SUV would not be my choice of car, this came across as one of the better ones of its type, with a migh higher quality interior than has been usual from Renault, and some neat practical design features.





The Laguna GT appeared, in what seems to be its signature colour, both in hatch and Sport Tourer guises. This is definitely a car that would need a proper road assessment to determine whether it is actually any good or not.





And the Twingo Renault Sport, the 133 bhp version which is not on sale yet.



Some more familiar models were there, too.

The Twingo GT had some particularly nasty sharp-edged plastics, which actually drew blood!











In a separate display area, Renault Design had dusted off an old concept car, the Altica.





All in all, then an excellent event, vastly improved by the summer weather, and made all the more fun by the presence of several forummers from "The Motor".

You can find a further write up, from one of the other attendees, here: http://themotor.net/index.php?opt...ask=view&id=265&Itemid=49

[The Pirate]

Very cool photos man!  I did go through all 4 threads too.  I love those Clios, I would definitely give one a look if they were available in the U.S.  The on-track photos were awesome, I always like those.  I have a stack of 50 or so from a vintage event that I attended at Watkins Glen International; alas they are all prints from a film camera, and they don't turn out well when I try to scan. 

I'm sorry, but I find the Avantime to be a pretty ugly car.  The strakes above the headlights are particularly tacky, and the whole car seems a bit awkward.  Are they a popular car over there?  Cool that you got to ride on the track in one though.

[Colin]

Is the Avantime popular? Well, yes and no. It bombed in the market, and was withdrawn from sale fairly quickly, with, iirc, less than 5000 sold in total. However, it has quickly acquired a cult following since then, with active owners clubs in the various countries where it was sold.