July 1, 1979, Grand Prix de France on the Dijon-Prenois circuit: Jean-Pierre Jabouille imposes his Renault RS10 and offers his first victory to Renault in the Formula 1™ World Championship, while René Arnoux (Renault RS10) completes the success of Renault taking the 3rd place, after a Homeric battle with Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari 312T).
Renault has just revolutionized Motorsport: for the first time, a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine is needed against the traditional 3.0-liter atmospheric engaged in the premium category. All competing competitors will follow Renault in this direction. The current technical regulation of Formula 1™ - based on a 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 engine - is a form of recognition of the vision of Renault (vision whose genesis dates back to 1902, the year in which Louis Renault filed a patent on the means "to increase the gas inlet pressure in the cylinders [via] a fan or a small compressor"!).
Renault had challenged the status quo. It was now time to set the standards. High. Very quickly, engineers and designers started working hand in hand to bring the technology to Renault's road cars. From the first Renault 5 Turbo to the latest Mégane R.S. Trophy, many R.S. cars inherited this cutting-edge technology from the 'Yellow Teapot'.
40 years after its first victory in Formula 1™, Renault was present, once again, at the 2019 Rétromobile show to celebrate its pioneering role in the racing industry.
Last February, 132,000 visitors from around the world traveled to the Rétromobile show to admire perfectly preserved Renault cars with turbocharged engines. It was a unique opportunity to come closer to the cars that have transformed the automotive world.
But our cars were not the only stars of the show. The one and only Jean Ragnotti and the world-famous 'Yellow Teapot' driver, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, were both at the Renault stand to surprise and meet their happy fans.
See you next year!
Source: Renault Sport & Renault Classic
