1982 René Arnoux Renault RE 30 is up for sale
Artcurial
Renault has put more than 20 of its historic Formula 1 cars up for sale as it looks to shed 200 models from its heritage collection.
Turbo-era cars driven by Alain Prost, René Arnoux and Jean-Pierre Jabouille are among an initial 100 lots to be auctioned next month, along with Renault-powered Williams and Benetton F1 cars from the 1990s.
Rally-spec Renaults 5s and an Alpine A442 Le Mans car are also being disposed of by the company, as it begins the process of cutting its collection from 800 to 600 models.
Renault will end its Formula 1 engine programme at the end of this season, but the sale has not been linked to that decision.
The carmaker is planning to open a new museum in 2027 to showcase its 125-year history. It said that it is “reorganising” its collection ahead of the move by selling cars that it has more than one of.
“The sale will present around 100 historic vehicles from the 800 currently in the Renault collection,” it said. “Renault is reorganising its historic car collection and will preserve 600 emblematic and unique models, dating back to 1898. The brand will therefore be offering for auction several vehicles of which multiple examples are owned, while ensuring that at least one example of each model is retained.”
The Artcurial sale will take place on December 7, at Renault’s Flins-sur-Seine factory site, 25 miles from Paris, which will also host the museum.
As well as the 100 cars, a further 100 prototypes, models and memorabilia items will offered. There are bizarre concept cars and design studies, wind tunnel models and F1 engines, including the V6 Turbo that powered Ayrton Senna’s Lotus to victory in the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix.
Artcurial says that 90% of the lots will be offered with no reserve, but bidding is likely to be competitive for some of Renault’s most famous machines.
Alain Prost’s 1981 Renault RE 27B is another lot in the auction
Artcurial
Full descriptions of the lots are still to be released, but these are the details announced so far.
Around 20 cars from Renault’s turbo era (1981–1985) are available, including an RE27B, driven by Arnoux in 1981; two of Alain Prost’s RE40’s from 1983, and examples of the RE50 and RE60 from subsequent seasons. Many are said to have their original technical logbooks from Viry-Chatillon.
Other Renault-powered F1 cars include a 1984 Lotus 95 T, in Nigel Mansell‘s No12 livery; a 1996 Williams FW18 with Jacques Villeneuve decals, and a 1995 Michael Schumacher-spec Benetton B195, along with a number of show cars.
Renault V6 Turbo-powered Lotus 95 was raced by Mansell in 1985
Artcurial
Schumacher was ’95 champion in Benetton B195
Artcurial
Jacques Villeneuve drive Williams FW18 in his maiden F1 season
Artcurial
Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Derek Bell led at Le Mans for 17 hours in 1977 at the wheel of an Alpine A442 before a piston failure robbed them of a historic home win. An example of the car is up for sale in November, alongside rallying rarities like the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo prototype B0 and 5 GT Turbo Bandama, still carrying traces of Ivory Coast soil from Alain Oreille’s exploits.
Renault Alpine A442
Peter Singhof
Aerodynamic mock-ups and 1:5 scale prototypes of the R4, R5, Supercinq, and experimental Twingos, charting Renault’s design evolution, are among 100 additional lots.
Renault 5 Maxi Turbo
These also include engines and memorabilia, notably the Renault Elf V6 Turbo EF15 that powered Ayrton Senna’s Lotus in 1986, plus helmets, race suits and promotional items celebrating the brand’s motor sport heritage.
The Renault engine that powered Senna’s car in 1986
Alexis Ruben
There are also unusual creations, such as a 1950s Liberty Ship export model for the Dauphine, a 1:20 scale panoramic railcar, and a double-sided Bodet factory clock salvaged from Flins-sur-Seine, evoking the site’s industrial legacy.
Renault’s panoramic railcar
Flora Ferreira
