Alpine & Renault — The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car 1968 to 1979

by Roy Smith

This is a study of how the first turbo Grand Prix car came to be a reality. Starting with a brief history of Renault, the story moves to the development of Jean Redele's company, Alpine, and the parts played by Gordini, Elf and Michelin, including much personal input from the men who made it happen.

The first experimental car in 1968 was so nearly raced by Mauro Bianchi in the French GP of that year, but its development was stopped by Renault - the book details the visionary ideas of the talented engineers at that company, as well as at Gordini and Alpine.

The creation of a turbo engine for the Alpine sports car led to the idea of a Grand Prix car powered by a turbocharged 1500cc engine. Grand Prix driver Jean Pierre Jabouille's determination to develop such a car on the track is graphically described, demonstrating the huge technical challenges that awaited the team.

The book is stunningly illustrated and is completed by a full record of the developments and races during the turbo era. Features a transcript of the first public test, race reports on every event, over 400 photos and special illustrations.

Contents:

PART 1: In the beginning

• Renault
• Alpine
• The Alpine A350 experimental Grand Prix car
  The designer - Richard Bouleau
  The driver - Mauro Bianchi
  The A350 - just an experiment?
• Gordini - the name on the engine

PART 2: The development of an idea

• How and why
• Elf and the turbo
• The birth of the engine, from the kitchen at Alpine to Formula 1
• Renault-Gordini-Elf F1 engines - bench dyno tests
• The Alpine A500, nicknamed the "Phantom",  becomes reality

PART 3: Climbing the mountain

• The first Renault RS01 - 1977
• The signs are there - 1978
• Chassis records for 1978 on RS01/2
• Mission accomplished - 1979

PART 4: The Grand Prix years

• Interesting asides: fuels, aerodynamics, and tyres
  Fuels and lubricants: the influence of Elf
  Aerodynamics and the ground-effect era
  Tyres
• For the record: the remainder of 1979
  Chassis records for 1979
  Records for RS01/03
  RS01, chassis 04
  RS10
  RS11
  RS12
  RS14
  RS20A - new development car for 1980
• Nearly, but not quite! What came after
  1980: The RE20
  1981: RE20 series B and RE30
  1982: RE30B
  1983: RE30C and RE40
  1984: The RE50 cars
  1985: RE60, RE60B - a sad final year

PART 5: The last word

• The legacy: the R5 Turbo
• Histoire & Collection

Buch, Hardcover, 26 x 26 cm, 240 Seiten, ca. 400 größtenteils farbige Abbildungen, englischer Text
Einzelstück - Zustand: neu