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 Twizy Renault Sport F1 Concept
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| Renault Twizy Renault Sport F1 Concept |
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<< Prev Page 3 of 3  "Twizy Renault Sport F1 serves quite simply as a bridge between the excellence of Renault's F1 technology and the brand's electric vehicle expertise. Carrying over racing technology for use with a production car without having to make major modifications to the latter was not as straightforward as it may seem and was a significant technological challenge. The development of Twizy Renault Sport F1 called for some very careful thought." Guillaume Brotonne (Technical Manager, Twizy Renault Sport F1)Renault Sport F1 and Renault Sport Technologies worked hand in hand to convert the KERS system for use on the Twizy Renault Sport F1 concept car and then fine-tune the resulting package. Throughout the project, the collaboration between Renault's two sporting departments was exemplary, and the combination of their taste for a challenge, their passion for motorsport and their prior knowledge of Twizy was key to the project's success. Based on an idea suggested by Renault Sport F1: thanks to the technological excellence it has acquired as a supplier of engines to a number of F1 teams, Renault Sport F1 wanted to communicate to a wider audience the savoir-faire it has built up in the realm of electric power thanks to KERS which became a part of the sport in 2009. Indeed, it was because of this very expertise that Renault's F1 engine specialists were called in to play a part in the development of the standard Twizy's electric motor in 2010. This grasp of the KERS used in F1 and of Twizy's electric motor provided the perfect opportunity to bring the two worlds together. Flashback to the European F1 Grand Prix at Valence, Spain, on June 21, 2012. In the busy paddock, with the countdown to the race well under way, a discussion is taking place between three people in the Renault Sport F1 motorhome. Renault's KERS project leader Laurent Debailleul is talking about his involvement in the development of Twizy's motor and of the latter's parallels with racing technology. Almost as a joke, he says: "Why not fit Twizy with KERS?" Tarik Ait Said (Marketing Operations, Renault Sport F1) and Axel Plasse (Manager of Engine Engineering for the RS 27 V8 F1 engine) jump on the idea at once. The seed for Twizy Renault Sport F1 was sown, sparking off an immediate chain reaction... Between the end of the summer and late-November 2012, Renault Sport F1, Renault Sport Technologies and Renault Design met frequently to evaluate the technical feasibility of the different options with a restricted budget. Their findings were then presented to Renault's senior management who gave the green light at the end of December. In less than four months, the idea was transformed into a project sanctioned at the very highest level of the company. "From the moment the idea germinated and the first time Twizy Renault Sport F1 turned a wheel, only 10 months elapsed. This ultra-short development period was made possible by the passion and commitment of a small team of experts from different fields. From the outset, the spirit behind the project was worthy of that which prevails in Formula 1. By that I mean it combined passion, thinking outside of the box and a rigorous framework which allowed us to take it forward as a team, in addition to our everyday responsibilities." Tarik Ait Said (Project Coordinator, Twizy Renault Sport F1). Renault Sport Technologies rises to the challenge: the Twizy Renault Sport F1 project was put in the hands of experts who have experience of low production-run Renault sporty vehicles. The specialists from Renault Sport Technologies had previously been responsible for the design and development of Renault Twizy's suspension and were also able to use their experience as the entity responsible for the Renault group's race and rally cars to work on this one-off project:
"Thanks to our experience of race car engineering, we were able to take elements from our FR2.0 and FR3.5 race cars and also check that the rigidity of Twizy's chassis and suspension was capable of handling the additional 60kW. "Thanks to the very close working relationship we enjoy with Renault Sport F1, we were able to combine the 'fun' side of the project with some very advanced technology. We are very proud of the result." Patrice Ratti (General Manager, Renault Sport Technologies). Meanwhile, the experts at Viry-Chtillon brought to the table their integration savoir-faire and KERS expertise, including the battery, not to mention their experience of Twizy's own motor. "Thanks to our experience of KERS, we were able to guide the system's integration in the concept car and provide the necessary support for its fine-tuning development." Laurent Debailleul (Electric Systems Test Manager, Renault Sport F1) Twizy Renault Sport F1 serves as an exciting bridge between the world of Formula 1 and that of production cars in much the same way as Espace F1 which was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1994. This prototype was the fruit of a partnership between Renault and Matra and was produced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Espace's launch. Its carbon fibre body was based on the design of the second-generation Espace. Espace F1 used the same 820hp RS5 V10 3,500cc 40-valve engine as that which powered the Williams FW15C F1 car. It drove through a semi-automatic six-speed paddle-shift gearbox and the car was turned out in a striking yellow livery. Comfortably strapped into bucket seats by three-point harness belts, the four passengers were able to enjoy a near-Formula 1 experience from the inside. In addition to the fact that the two projects place the emphasis on 'fun', Espace F1 and Twizy RENAULT Sport F1 both serve as eloquent illustrations of Renault's desire to see production vehicles benefit from technologies developed for motorsport. Thanks to its 35 years of experience as an F1 engine supplier, Renault benefits from an exceptional technological laboratory which provides it with an undeniable advantage when it comes to developing vehicles of tomorrow. << Prev Page 3 of 3 |
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