- Well-documented history, transferred directly to Renault by Philippe Streiff

- Fitted with a type EF15 Renault V6 turbo engine (incomplete)

- Attractively presented

At the start of the 1980s, while turbocharged engines gradually took hold in Formula 1, Tyrrell – which had made its mark in 1968 when it enabled Jackie Stewart and his Matra to win the F1 World Championship – was the last team to remain faithful to the naturally-aspirated Ford V8. Until, that is, the Austrian Grand Prix on 19 August 1984, at which neither of Tyrrell’s drivers, Stefan Johansson and Stefan Bellof, managed to qualify. The English team had to move with the times and therefore signed an agreement with Renault for the supply of a V6 turbo. This was fitted to the Tyrrell 014, which took over from the naturally-aspirated Tyrrell 012 during the 1985 season and allowed the British team to remain competitive. This was in turn replaced during the 1986 season by the Tyrrell 015, which made its debut at the Monaco Grand Prix. However, although the car was quite reliable and the team had two excellent drivers in Martin Brundle and Philippe Streiff, it was underdeveloped and struggled to score any points in the championship. Its best performance was in the final Grand Prix of the season, in October in Australia, where Brundle and Streiff finished 4th and 5th. It should be noted that the engines Renault supplied to Tyrrell were ‘customer’ engines and not to the latest specification, unlike Lotus, which had a more favourable contract. In the end, Tyrrell finished seventh in the 1986 Constructors’ Championship.

At the end of the 1986 season, Streiff had the opportunity to acquire one of the Tyrrell 015s, and in 1994, he agreed with Renault’s Public Relations department to swap it for the 1984 Renault RE50-08 racing car. A letter dated 9 May 1995, signed by Jean Robert, the director of the Heritage and Innovation department and citing Alain Dubois-Dumée, Renault’s Communications director, confirms the transaction. It is countersigned by Philippe Streiff himself. The car then received a cosmetic restoration in the Betesta workshops so that it could be used for display purposes.

In particular, it was loaned to the Matra museum in Romorantin at the start of 2002, and again in 2009, and in January 2006, it was displayed at an open day at Renault’s showroom in Boulogne. In September 2006, it took part in the ‘World Series by Renault’ operation at Le Mans.

It is presented today in colours close to those in which it raced at Monaco, with Philippe Streiff’s name and his number 4, as well as stickers of its sponsors at the time, among them Data General and Kelémata, an Italian cosmetics and perfume brand. It is fitted with a type EF15 engine, no. 501, which is, however, incomplete. The very basic cockpit has only two instruments – a rev counter and turbo boost gauge – a few switches and its steering wheel from the period, worn smooth by the driver’s movements.

With its V6 turbo and attractive white livery, this Tyrrell illustrates the epic tale of Renault’s turbo engines in Formula 1 and is a reminder that they were used by other teams and not just Renault itself, proof of their performance and their excellent reputation among the teams in contention. A reminder too of the skill of a talented driver, whose career came to far too sudden an end with his serious accident in 1989, this car represents a rare chance to acquire a single-seat racing car from this period, one of the most fascinating in the history of Formula 1.