Competition car Unregistered

Chassis no. RE40-04 Engine no.

- 3rd at the 1983 Italian Grand Prix at Monza with Eddie Cheever

- One of the best Renault Formula 1 single-seaters

- Competed in seven Grands Prix with Eddie Cheever, one of the few American drivers in F1

- Sold directly by the constructor, with its original logbook!

- Refurbished by the staff at the collection, used regularly

 

For the 1983 season, René Arnoux had left for Ferrari and was replaced by Eddie Cheever: “He was a nice guy and an American, which was very good for our brand image, and highly professional”, Gérard Larrousse, the director of Renault Sport, said of him. The car presented here, RE 40-04, was assigned to Cheever for the second part of the 1983 season, and he competed in seven Grands Prix with it. It is part of the RE 40 series, which were among the best Renault single-seaters during its turbo years, and enabled the company to complete its best season, with Prost the runner-up in the World Championship.

 

RE 40-04 is one of seven produced by Renault Sport, of which six have remained with Renault Sport since they were built. It comes with its logbook, a binder recording each time the car was taken out on track, with details of its configuration and set-up, and the drivers’ comments, providing a precise account of the car's racing history. It supplements the information in the excellent book Renault F1, Les années turbo (1991, Jean-Louis Moncet, Bernard Dudot, Jean Sage).

 

From the logbook we can see that it began testing on 6/7 July 1983 at Zeltweg, ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, to be held on 14 August. Cheever tested various spoilers and tyres, despite suffering from engine problems due to an oil surge with the oil pump. In the end, he decided on the Michelin 439 T tyres.

The car then went to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, for which testing started on 14 July. Detailed changes had been made to the car and Cheever observed: “The car oversteers a bit, third and fourth are too short.” He posted the seventh-fastest time in testing, but the engine overheated and he had to retire on the day of the race. Alain Prost was luckier and won the race.

The next round was the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. The official tests began on 5 August, and despite rain on the second day, Cheever set the sixth-fastest time. He was unlucky, however, as when he was in fourth place and within sight of the finishing line, his accelerator jammed wide open. He was out of the race ...

After Germany, the teams headed for Zeltweg, in Austria. During the first practice session, on 12 August, Cheever struggled to find the right balance between understeer and oversteer. It was the same the next day and he was unable to improve on his time from the previous day, lining up eighth on the grid. On race day, he achieved an excellent fourth place, while Prost snatched victory from Arnoux and Piquet.

 

RE 40-04’s career continued at Zandvoort, for the Dutch Grand Prix, scheduled for 28 August. Despite a slippery track, Cheever succeeded in finding “a very good balance” and posted the eleventh-fastest time, but had to retire during the race due to an engine failure. For his part, Prost collided with Piquet during an overtake and also failed to finish the race.

In testing for the Italian Grand Prix, on 9/10 September, for the first time a qualifying engine had to be used, with the turbochargers limited to 52psi. Cheever set the seventh-fastest time and achieved an excellent third-place finish in the race, driving this car, his best result of the season.

The car concluded its career with the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch on 25 September and then the South African GP at Kyalami on 15 October. Cheever finished respectively tenth and eleventh in these two races, with Kyalami his last race with Renault.

 

The car made a final appearance on 18 December 1983 at the Paul Ricard track for a session during which a number of professional drivers carried out tests for the motoring press.

 

RE 40-04 used by Cheever was identical to Prost’s car, but although the American driver was very quick, he didn’t have that extra degree of talent to let him match his team-mate. “He didn’t have much luck with us”, Larrousse admitted, “but it must be said that Prost mobilized all our resources”. In any case, the contribution made by RE 40-04 to the work done by the team clearly played its part in the final results of the 1983 season, making this car a central part of Renault’s success during its turbo years.

 

Today, the car is in fine condition. It was restored by the staff at the collection in Prost’s colours to take part in historic demonstration events, appearing from 2010 onwards at the Grand Prix de France Historique, Sport & Collection at Le Vigeant and at revival events at Nice and Monaco, as well as making several appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. During some of these events, Alain Prost got behind the wheel, as did his son Nicolas, who, for the first time, took the controls of an F1 car, the same model his father used to drive. This took place at Goodwood, in July 2025, where Renault was present to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Formula One.

The previous year, in 2024, the car was restored mechanically and fitted with a new engine, which has been little used since.

 

RE 40-04 therefore represents an exceptional opportunity to acquire one of the best Renault F1’s from the turbo years, in running order and with a history which is fully known; it still has its original period logbook and has remained with Renault ever since it was new.

 

 

RE 40-04: racing summary

 

14–17 July 1983

British Grand Prix, Silverstone

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: 7th

Race: DNF

 

5–8 August 1983

German Grand Prix, Hockenheim

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: 6th

Race: DNF

 

14–16 August 1983

Austrian Grand Prix, Zeltweg

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: 8th

Race: 4th

 

26–28 August 1983

Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: 11th

Race: DNF

 

9–10 September 1983

Italian Grand Prix, Monza

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: 7th

Race: 3rd

 

23–25 September 1983

European Grand Prix, Brands Hatch

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: ???th

Race: 10th

 

13–15 October 1983

South African Grand Prix, Kyalami

Driver: Eddie Cheever

Qualifying: ???th

Race: 11th