Competition vehicle Unregistered

Chassis no. 27 B

- Finished in the top 10 in three World Championship Grands Prix in 1981

- Driven by the brilliant René Arnoux, winner of seven F1 races from 1980–1983

- Sold by the manufacturer, with its period logbook!

- Heart-stirring original condition

 

An interim model between the RE 20 and the RE 30, this single-seater RE27 B was based on the RE 23 used by Jean-Pierre Jabouille during the 1980 season. It was assigned to René Arnoux and used at the beginning of the 1981 season for private testing and then at the United States, Argentine and San Marino Grands Prix. The car is sold today with its racing binder, a sort of logbook where all the test and race information was recorded. It is an extremely rare and valuable document, providing a detailed account of its career and supplementing the information in the excellent book Renault F1, Les années turbo (1991, Jean-Louis Moncet, Bernard Dudot, Jean Sage).

 

RE27 B made its first appearance on 28 January 1981 at the Almirante Brown circuit in Buenos Aires, for three days of private testing. The first day was devoted to preliminary set-up work and the second to tests on the spoilers, damping and tyres. By the third day, the car was up to scratch and tyre testing continued. Arnoux concluded: “On the whole, the car is better with the reduced downforce.”

On 13 March, RE27 B took part in the official testing for the United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach. Arnoux complained about the response time of the turbo, which was an annoying problem on a track of this kind. He added: “The car still understeers turning into slow corners.” The following day, during qualifying, he could manage no better than the 20th-fastest time. On 15 March, race day, he stopped on the 13th lap for a tyre change and finished eighth. Prost, his team-mate at Renault, didn’t fare little better: Andrea de Cesaris crashed into him on the first lap.

The team then travelled to Rio de Janeiro for the Brazilian Grand Prix, testing for which began with a free practice session on Thursday 27 March, followed by official testing on the Friday and Saturday. Arnoux posted a best time of 1'37"56, earning him eighth place on the grid, but for the race itself he drove the RE 26 B. After a start in the rain, he was the victim of a collision caused by Andretti and Villeneuve and was forced to retire.

 

The car continued its career in Buenos Aires for free practice on 9 April, ahead of the race scheduled for the 11th. The two Renaults were the fastest, causing a sensation. The next day, at the end of the first official test session, Arnoux noted: “The car is super in the fast corners.” At the end of testing, Arnoux set the fifth-fastest time, with Prost taking second place on the starting grid. During the race, Arnoux – driving RE27 B – fought with Alan Jones and finished fifth, while Prost claimed third place, the first podium finish of the season for the French team, whose cars had become considerably more reliable.

 

The last race in which this car competed was the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, in the thick of the battle raging between the FIA and the FOCA. Testing started on 1 May 1981 and began with a jammed gearbox. The day continued in a more encouraging manner and Arnoux posted the third-fastest time in testing with RE27 B. This time, he started the race ahead of his team-mate Prost, who could not do any better. The car was equipped with a brake booster and Arnoux noted at the end of testing: “Brake pedal inconsistent.” On the day of the race, the gearbox played up again and Arnoux finished eighth.

 

Among the different data points in the car’s binder and its track records are the distance covered each time the RE 27 B went out. The total at the end of the San Marino Grand Prix was 4636km, a figure reflecting its extensive use in testing.

It should be noted that, later in the season, the French team was finally blessed with good luck, with Arnoux taking pole position and Prost winning the French Grand Prix, among other successful results.

 

After RE27 B’s career on track, in 1981 Renault Sport transferred the single-seater to Renault's Public Relations department.

It was later restored to go on static display and is now in its original configuration bearing Arnoux’s name, with his racing number 16, and fitted with a 1.5-litre twin-turbo V6, which is probably incomplete. Inside the very bare interior, the controls seem amazingly basic compared with today’s F1s and the steering wheel shows signs of being used in anger in competition. The appearance of the car is also a great success, with its rear spoiler incorporating two fins and a lower fairing, which is highly characteristic of this version. It represents a unique opportunity to acquire directly from the manufacturer a completely authentic F1 single-seater, whose exact history is known and which contributed to the extraordinary development of turbocharging in Formula 1.

RE27 B: racing summary

 

March 1981

United States Grand Prix West, Long Beach

Driver: René Arnoux

Qualifying: 20th

Race: 8th

 

March 1981

Brazilian Grand Prix, Rio de Janeiro

Driver: René Arnoux

Qualifying: 8th

Race: DNF

 

9–11 April 1981

Argentine Grand Prix, Buenos Aires

Driver: René Arnoux

Qualifying: 5th

Race: 5th

 

1–3 May 1981

San Marino Grand Prix, Imola

Driver: René Arnoux

Qualifying: 3rd

Race: 8th