The Renault Espace was launched in 1985 and after being on sale for a decade, Renault decided they needed to make more noise about its people carrier.
What better way to do it than by teaming up with the Williams Formula 1 team, which was then at the peak of its powers, having dominated the 1992 and 1993 F1 world championships with a Renault V10 powering its cars?
The result was the insane one-off Espace F1 which was fitted with the FW14’s naturally aspirated 3.5-litre, 40-valve V10, producing around 800 hp (597 kW) and 705 Nm (520 lb-ft) and capable of revving beyond 13,000 rpm. This was mounted in the middle of the car, where the kids usually go. It sent drive to the rear wheels through a six-speed, semi-automatic sequential gearbox.
It was built on a carbon fibre chassis, the aft section of which was sourced directly from the Alain Prost-piloted 1993 Williams FW14, suspension and all. The body was a carbon fibre-reinforced version of the standard Espace’s bodywork with appropriate bulges, vents and spoilers affixed.
It is able to sprint to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds and run to a top speed of 312 km/h.
Stopping power came from huge carbon fibre disc brakes, which Renault claimed could bring the Espace F1 to a stop with just 10% more road than a regular F1 car.
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