The Renault Formula One team, currently trading as Lotus Renault GP, is a Formula One racing team. It has competed in various forms since 1977, winning Constructors' and Drivers' titles in 2005 and 2006. Renault had some involvement in early motorsport, including Ferenc Szisz winning the first French Grand Prix. However, it was not until 1977 that the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One in their first car, the Renault RS01. Although the Renault team won races and competed for world titles, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault returned to Formula One as a team in 2002 when it completed its takeover and rebranding of the UK-based team previously known as Benetton (and before that, Toleman). Under the Renault F1 Team guise the team won the Drivers' and Constructors' championships in 2005 and 2006. At the end of 2009, the Renault car company sold a 75% stake in the team to the Genii Capital investment company. At the end of 2010, it sold its remaining 25% share to Genii, which then decided to enter into an alignment with Group Lotus. The team competes in the 2011 season under the name Lotus Renault GP. The team continues to be coordinated from its UK base at Enstone, Oxfordshire where the chassis are designed and built. Engines are manufactured at Renault's facility at Viry-Châtillon near Paris. Renault has also supplied engines to other teams, including Team Lotus (1980s), Benetton and Williams teams in the 1990s. As an engine supplier, Renault has contributed to six driver's world championships (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2010 won by Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Sebastian Vettel respectively) and seven constructor's world championships (1992–1997 and 2010) as engine supplier for Benetton, Williams and Red Bull. The engine supply has continued during periods when Renault was not active as a constructor in its own right.
Renault F1 Engine
From 1983 to 1986, Renault became engine supplier to Team Lotus with its iconic John Player Special livery. Though not competitive initially, with the recruitment of genius designer Gérard Ducarouge the marquee gained competitiveness towards the later part of the 1983 season into 1984, with Nigel Mansell and Elio De Angelis scoring regular podiums. Rising superstar Ayrton Senna joined Team Lotus in 1985 and the combination of his immense speed, talent and the superfast, but thirsty Lotus 97T notched up numerous pole positions and grand prix wins, but chronic unreliability prevented a sustained attempt at either title. In 1986, aristocrat Johnny Dumfries was chosen to be Senna's new partner after Senna vetoed the original choice of Derek Warwick. More pole positions and occasional wins followed with the Lotus 98T but the tallies could have been improved further with better reliability or fuel consumption lasting the full race duration. In the four seasons between 1983 to 1986, Team Lotus with Renault engines scored 19 pole positions and 5 Grand Prix victories. This period helped to launch Ayrton Senna to superstardom. Renault Sport pulled out completely from Formula One after the 1986 season but for only a brief sabbatical until they renewed their involvement in 1989, when they became an engine supplier to Williams and by the sixth round in Canada, the team had already secured their first Renault powered victory. Renault had also pioneered the first pneumatic valved V10 engine in F1. Williams enjoyed signs of promise for the next 2 years and by 1992, with the aid of active suspension, the Williams-Renault was a World Championship-winning car, winning over half of the races during the season. Renault pulled out of Formula One at the end of 1997, coinciding with the departure of Adrian Newey, the head of Williams' design team, who had designed all of the Renault powered Williams' from 1992 onwards. However, the power unit was still bought by teams 'off the shelf' for several years afterwards by Benetton (where the engine was re-badged as Playlife), Williams (where it was re-badged as Mecachrome) and BAR and Arrows (where it was re-badged as Supertec). On September 15, 2006, Renault announced that it had agreed to supply Red Bull Racing with engines in 2007 and 2008. On November 1, 2006, Red Bull Racing confirmed the use of Renault engines and the transfer of the Ferrari units to Scuderia Toro Rosso. On 5 November 2010, Lotus Racing announced that they would use Renault engines for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
During the 2009 season, the actions of Renault F1 during the 2008 season were examined over alleged race fixing. The issue surrounded Nelson Piquet, Jr.'s crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix which Renault team mate Fernando Alonso went on to win. At the time, Piquet, Jr. had characterised the incident as a simple mistake. After Piquet, Jr. left the Renault team in August 2009, allegations surfaced that this crash had been deliberate, to give an advantage to Alonso. Following an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) investigation in which Piquet, Jr. stated he had been asked by Renault team principal Flavio Briatore and engineer Pat Symonds to stage the crash, on 4 September 2009 Renault were charged with conspiracy and race fixing, and were due to face the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 21 September 2009. Initially, Renault and Briatore stated they would take legal action against Piquet, Jr. for making false allegations, however, before the 21 September meeting, Renault announced they would not contest the charges, and that Briatore and Symonds had left the team. Briatore contested his ban in a French court, which then overturned the ban so Briatore can be involved in any FIA-sanctioned motorsport.In the mid 2000s, questions were raised regarding Renault's commitment to its Formula One team, particularly after the appointment of Carlos Ghosn as CEO in 2005. Ghosn has a reputation as a ruthless businessman, nicknamed "le cost cutter". Ghosn has time and again confirmed his belief in Formula 1, both as an advertising vehicle and a substantial technology investment. At the 2005 French Grand Prix, Ghosn set out his policy regarding the company's involvement in motorsport: "We are not in Formula One out of habit or tradition. We're here to show our talent and that we can do it properly... Formula One is a cost if you don't get the results. Formula One is an investment if you do have them and know how to exploit them." After Renault won both championships in 2006 for a second year, Ghosn said "It is an important victory because it justifies the investment Renault has made in Formula 1, and will make in the future. More and more, Formula 1 is working as an investment for us, not a loss.". In May 2008, two years since Renault F1 dominated the sport, and amidst a relatively weak season for the team, Ghosn again stated that irrespectively of results, Renault would stay in F1 for 'many years'. Renault have signed an agreement with Formula One Management pledging its allegiance to Formula 1 until 2012.
The Renault Kangoo and Kangoo Express are panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by French automaker Renault since 1997. The Kangoo is manufactured in the MCA plant in Maubeuge, France, and in Santa Isabel, Argentina. The version for the ASEAN markets was assembled by the Tan Chong Euro Cars Sdn. Bhd. (TCEC) in its Segambut plant. The model was also sold by Nissan in Latin America and Europe as the Kubistar until late 2009 in Europe, when it was replaced by the Nissan NV200. The first generation Kangoo was introduced in 1997. It was facelifted in 2003, resulting in a Phase II model. The Phase II vehicles are distinguished by their new nose styling, standardised across the Renault range, with the Renault diamond mounted on a body colour panel in the centre of the grille and teardrop headlamps. The rear windows and seats of the Kangoo could be removed, producing the panel van Kangoo Express. The Kangoo became popular with the mobility-impaired and wheelchair users due to its height and accessibility and because it could be adapted to include mounting points for wheelchairs. Both the Kangoo and Kangoo Express were available in four-wheel drive versions and a lengthened version was also available, with an increased cargo area. A pickup truck version was sold in the Swedish market. In some countries, such as Malaysia, the Kangoo was assembled by Nissan with a third row of 3 seats. The Kangoo Break'Up was a four wheel drive concept car announced in 2002 and previewed the 2003 facelift design, together with a pick-up style rear. It was powered by 1.6 L engine producing 110bhp.
The 4WD version of the Kangoo was introduced in 2002 and was marketed under the model name Trekka. It should not be confused with the Skoda-powered New Zealand built utility vehicle named Trekka, which was marketed in the Antipodes for several years around 1970 . The Kangoo Trekka's all-wheel drive system differed from the Renault Scenic RX4 in its inclusion of a Nissan sourced automatic torque coupling "ATC", a hydraulic coupling that would engage drive on all four wheels should the front wheels start to lose traction. This still allowed the Kangoo Trekka to run in front wheel drive in most conditions, saving fuel. Working in combination with the ATC, the Kangoo Trekka also featured an electronically controlled "ASR" traction control system which could brake the front wheels to arrest traction loss. The suspension was similar to the standard Kangoo only strengthened and raised to provide more ground clearance and wheel travel. These changes gave the Kangoo Trekka a 400 mm (15.7 in) fording depth and 28-degree hill-climbing capability. The Kangoo Trekka was marketed in the United Kingdom with a choice of two engines, the 1.6-litre 16-valve petrol engine and the 1.9-litre dCi common-rail turbodiesel. In 2005 these models were priced at £12,600 and £13,600 respectively. The Diesel produced a peak torque of 133 lb·ft (180 N·m) and returned over 40 mpg-imp (7 L/100 km; 33 mpg-US) on the combined (urban and extra urban) fuel consumption test. The petrol engine had a 0-60 mph time of 14.3 seconds and a combined fuel consumption of 31.4 mpg-imp (9.0 L/100 km; 26.1 mpg-US). The interior of the Kangoo Trekka was spartan and easy to clean. The rear bench seat could be folded forward to provide a 2,500-litre (88 cu ft) loading area to which sliding side doors provided good access.
The New Renault Kangoo and New Renault Kangoo Express were the new generation light commercial vehicle (LCV) in Renault's lineup. Based on the Scenic and manufactured in Maubeuge, sales began in January 2008. The Kangoo van is often used by La Poste, the national postal service of France. The Kangoo has 4 bodystyles: the Kangoo Compact, the Kangoo Van, the Kangoo Van Maxi, and the Kangoo Van Maxi Crew Van. The Kangoo Compact is used for smaller deliveries with a payload 500 kg, while the Kangoo Van is used for larger deliveries and has a payload of 650 or 800 kg. The Kangoo Van Maxi has the most payload of 800 kg and the Kangoo Van Maxi Crew Van has a maximum floor length of 1.33 meters. As part of its Z.E. electric car initiative, Renault has developed a Kangoo Express Z.E. model that will be manufactured at its Maubeuge plant. A planned Renault battery plant near Paris that will supply batteries for the vehicle was delayed due to technical constraints. Construction will start in the second quarter of 2012 and production of batteries is expected to be delayed to 2014 or 2015. Instead, Renault will have to buy batteries from a joint venture between Nissan Motor and NEC, and from LG Chem of South Korea. Customers in several countries can pre-reserve models at the Renault-ZE website with an expected release in 2011. European pricing is €20,000 before any government incentives and excluding VAT (€15,000 excluding VAT and including a tax incentive subsidy of €5,000). In addition to buying or leasing the vehicle there is a separate monthly subscription costing from €72 (excluding VAT) for the battery. Filling up' on energy (160 km) for Kangoo Express Z.E. will cost between one and two euros, depending on the local price of electricity (kWh). The Kangoo Express Z.E. has the same dimensions as the internal combustion model. It uses a synchronous electric motor with rotor coil. Its peak power is 44 kW (59 hp) at 10,500rpm, while maximum torque is 226 N·m (167 ft·lbf). Its top speed is capped electronically to 130 km/h (81 mph). The vehicle is powered by a 22 kW·h lithium-ion battery pack.
