This bonkers Renault R.S. 01 race car is up for sale

The folks at Renaultsport know how to make a decent performance car – after all, the fantastic Megane RS Trophy-R has literally just won our Performance Car of the Year award.

It was no surprise then that when said folks set their minds to building a track-only racer for a one-make series back in 2014, it was really rather good. This is said racer – the R.S. 01.

This particular 01 is currently up for sale via Swiss-based firm Carugati Automobiles. It’s a 2015 example which has been competing in the French V de V endurance series since 2016, and it sports an all-time great racing livery. It also has just over 6,000 miles on the clock, which is more than most hypercars you see up for sale these days – top work all involved.

A quick bit of background, the R.S. 01 featured a Dallara-developed carbon fibre chassis and the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 from a Nissan GT-R, but the engine was dry-sumped and produced a stonking 550bhp at 6,800rpm and 465lb ft of torque at 5,000rpm.

The whole car tipped the scales at just over 1,100kg too, and that massive rear wing helped to develop 1.7 tonnes of downforce at its 186mph top speed. Crikey. 

Sadly, the one-make race series that it was built for folded after just two seasons – although we’re sure the eventual buyer will find a few uses for it. The 01 was set up so you didn’t have to be a Driving God to tame it – there was traction control, ABS and the seven-speed sequential gearbox was fitted with an anti-stall function that removed the need for a clutch pedal.

When new, this thing cost €290,000 before all of your local taxes. This one’s up for €269,459 – what a bargain. 

Images: Carugati Automobiles