RSS Share 19/07/2005
Renault Alpine A443

Long, lithe, low and very fast - that's the Renault Alpine A443, which made its first dynamic run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last month.

With a peak speed of 236mph during qualifying for the 1978 Le Mans 24 hours, the sleek A443 is Renault's fastest ever race car, even faster than current Formula One cars. At that speed, a mile passes by in little over 15 seconds.

Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, who tested the A443 at Le Mans, was back behind the wheel of the car at the festival.

Recalling high-speed drives along Le Mans' legendary Mulsanne Straight in the days before chicanes were installed to slow the cars down, Jaussaud said: "It didn't seem that surprising when you were in the car because many of the other cars around you were very quick too."

"The speed did strike you when you looked to the side however, and you could see the trees flashing past - that was incredible."

Originally driven by Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Patrick Depallier, the A443 was planned to be the 'hare' in Renault's four-car attack on the 1978 race. Based on the A442 cars also entered by Renault that year, the A443 had a longer wheelbase and 20 extra horsepower from its 2,138cc turbocharged engine.

The idea was to set a searing pace and push the rival Porsche racing cars to destruction. When the Porsches suffered gearbox problems, the A443 had its moments of glory leading Le Mans, until it retired with a seized engine ten hours into the race.

Jaussaud took the lead in one of the A442 cars when the A443 expired, but was left feeling rather nervous about the condition of his own car. With co-driver Didier Pironi they brought the car home for a famous Renault victory at Le Mans.

Recognising its part in the triumph the A443 joined the A442 in a victory parade along the Champs-Élysées later that year, but would not run again until 2004.

The A443's outing at Goodwood followed a long and painstaking renovation by its owner, Renault's 650-vehicle Histoire et Collection based in Paris. It was stripped down to its chassis and rebuilt during a 2,000-hour restoration. Following the rebuild, the car returned to Le Mans with a new lease of life last year.

Competing in the 'Le Mans Classic' historic race, the A443 was leading when Jaussaud crashed out on the last lap. After further repair work the A443 joined Renault's array of historic cars at Goodwood, lining up proudly alongside RS01, Renault's first-ever Formula One car, and the 2004 R24 Renault F1 Team racer.