The carmaker is planning to open a new museum in 2027 to showcase its 125-year history. It said that it is “reorganising” its collection ahead of the move by selling cars that it has more than one of.
“The sale will present around 100 historic vehicles from the 800 currently in the Renault collection,” it said. “Renault is reorganising its historic car collection and will preserve 600 emblematic and unique models, dating back to 1898. The brand will therefore be offering for auction several vehicles of which multiple examples are owned, while ensuring that at least one example of each model is retained.”
The Artcurial sale will take place on December 7, at Renault’s Flins-sur-Seine factory site, 25 miles from Paris, which will also host the museum.
As well as the 100 cars, a further 100 prototypes, models and memorabilia items will offered. There are bizarre concept cars and design studies, wind tunnel models and F1 engines, including the V6 Turbo that powered Ayrton Senna’s Lotus to victory in the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix.
Artcurial says that 90% of the lots will be offered with no reserve, but bidding is likely to be competitive for some of Renault’s most famous machines.
Alain Prost’s 1981 Renault RE 27B is another lot in the auction
Artcurial
Renault Heritage Collection Sale: the lots
Full descriptions of the lots are still to be released, but these are the details released so far:
Formula 1 legends
Around 20 cars from Renault’s turbo era (1981–1985) are available, including an RE27B, driven by Arnoux in 1981; two of Alain Prost’s RE40′ from 1983, and examples of the RE50 and RE60 from subsequent seasons. Many are said to have their original technical logbooks from Viry-Chatillon.
Other Renault-powered F1 cars include a 1984 Lotus 95 T, in Nigel Mansell’s No12 livery; a 1996 Williams FW18 with Jacques Villeneuve decals, and a 1995 Michael Schumacher-spec Benetton B195, along with a number of show cars.
