#Shanghaimotorshow 2017: Étoile Filante and R.S. 2027 vision, two symbols of Renault innovation
Étoile Filante, record-breaking innovation
Well before Renault’s first Formula 1 incursions, the Étoile Filante brought the firmest possible proof of Renault’s extraordinary capacity for innovation. It had a polyester-clad tubular chassis and aviation-inspired aerodynamic features, and was powered by a turbine developing 270 bhp at 28,000 rpm.
More than sixty years ago, this spectacularly innovative machine set land speed records at the Bonneville salt lake in the USA:
- 306.90 km/h over a kilometre*
- 307.70 km/h over a mile
- 308.85 km/h over five kilometres*
- 280.80 km/h over five miles
*Records still unbeaten for this vehicle category
Étoile Filante and R.S. 2027 Vision, a shared sense of innovation
Quite aside from its media impact and ground-breaking design, way ahead of its time, the Étoile Filante project held major technical implications, providing engineers with an unprecedented opportunity to study the behaviour of a land vehicle at such a speed. Only two Étoiles Filantes were ever made.
True to the Étoile Filante spirit, the R.S. 2027 Vision concept car expresses the Renault vision of the shape of Formula 1 to come: avant-garde and innovation-rich.
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