Gordini

Gordini (French pronunciation: ​[ɡɔʁdini]) is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport).[1][2] In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini, nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini became a division of Renault in 1968 and of Renault Sport in 1976.[3]

Gordini
TypeDivision
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1946
Headquarters
Les Ulis
,
France
ParentRenault Sport

History
Gordini Type 32
1950 Simca Gordini T15s, as raced, and retired, at the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans by José Froilán González and Juan Manuel Fangio

Amédée Gordini tuned cars and competed in motor races since the 1930s. His results prompted Simca (the French assembler of Fiat) to hire him for its motorsport program and to develop road cars. Their association continued after World War II.[4]

In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars bearing his name, Fiat-engined single-seaters raced by him and Jose Scaron, achieving several victories. In the late 1940s, the company opened a workshop at the Boulevard Victor in Paris, entering sports car and Grand Prix races.[5] Gordini and Simca started to diverge in 1951 because of political conflicts.[4]

Gordini competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956 (with a brief return in 1957 with an eight cylinder engine), although it achieved a major success in Formula Two during that period.[5]

After its Formula One program ended, Gordini worked with Renault as an engine tuner, entering Renault-Gordini cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1962 and 1969. It also tuned engines for Alpine, a rival sports car manufacturer also associated with Renault. In 1957, Gordini and Renault manufactured the Dauphine Gordini, a modified version of the Renault Dauphine which was a sales success.[6] Gordini-tuned Renault cars also won various rallies during the 1950s and 1960s.[7] In 1963, the Gordini company planned to move its headquarters to Noisy-le-Roi. At the end of 1968, Gordini retired and sold a 70% majority stake from his firm to Renault.[8] Renault-Gordini was moved to Viry-Châtillon in 1969 and became a sport division of Renault, before being merged with Alpine to form Renault Sport in 1976.[3] On 1 January 1976, René Vuaillat became director of Gordini.[9] The Gordini company name became wholly owned by Renault in 1977.[8]

Renault sold Gordini-badged performance versions of models including the Renault 5, the Renault 8 the Renault 12 and the Renault 17.

In November 2009, Renault announced that it would be reviving the Gordini name for an exclusive line of hot hatches, in a similar fashion to Fiat's revival of its Abarth name.[10] Modern models to bear the name include the Renault Twingo and the Renault Clio.

Models
Renault Twingo RS Gordini
Clio Gordini
Renault 8 Gordini
  • Dauphine Gordini (1957–1967)
  • Renault 8 Gordini (1964–1970)
  • Renault 12 Gordini (1970–1974)
  • Renault 17 Gordini (1974–1978)[11]
  • Clio Gordini RS (2010–present)
  • Twingo Gordini (2010–present)
  • Twingo Gordini RS (2010–present)
  • Wind Gordini (2011–2013)

Car colours

Since its early Renault models the most characteristic colour scheme of Gordini cars has been bleu de France (the French motor racing colour) with white stripes,[12] although different combinations have been used over the years.[13]

Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1950 Simca Gordini Type 15 Gordini straight-4 GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA
Robert Manzon Ret 4 Ret
Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret
1951 Simca Gordini Type 15 Gordini straight-4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP
André Simon Ret Ret 6 Ret
Robert Manzon Ret 7 Ret 9
Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret DNS Ret
Aldo Gordini Ret
Jean Behra Ret
1952 Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA
Robert Manzon Ret 3 4 Ret Ret 5 14
Jean Behra 3 Ret 7 5 Ret Ret
Johnny Claes 8
Prince Bira Ret 11
Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret 6 Ret
Simca Gordini Type 15 Simca straight-4 Max de Terra Ret
Gordini Straight-4 Prince Bira Ret 10
Johnny Claes Ret 14 DNQ
Robert O'Brien NC
Maurice Trintignant 5
Paul Frère Ret
1953 Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA
Jean Behra 6 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret
Maurice Trintignant 7† 6 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret 5
Harry Schell 7† Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 9
Robert Manzon Ret
Carlos Menditeguy Ret
Roberto Mieres NC Ret 6
Fred Wacker 9
Simca Gordini Type 15 Gordini straight-4 Pablo Birger Ret
Georges Berger Ret
1954 Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 ARG 500 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP
Jean Behra DSQ Ret 6 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret
Élie Bayol 5
Roger Loyer Ret
Paul Frère Ret Ret Ret
André Pilette 5 9 Ret
Jacques Pollet Ret Ret
Georges Berger Ret
Clemar Bucci Ret Ret Ret Ret
Fred Wacker Ret 6
1955 Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 ARG MON 500 BEL NED GBR ITA
Élie Bayol Ret Ret
Jesus Iglesias Ret
Pablo Birger Ret
Robert Manzon Ret Ret Ret
Jacques Pollet 7 10 Ret
Hermano da Silva Ramos 8 Ret Ret
Mike Sparken 7
Jean Lucas Ret
1956 Gordini Type 32 Gordini straight-8 ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA
André Pilette 6† DNS
Élie Bayol 6†
Robert Manzon 9 9 Ret Ret
Hermano da Silva Ramos 8 Ret Ret
André Milhoux Ret
Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 Hermano da Silva Ramos 5
Robert Manzon Ret
André Pilette 11
André Simon 9

(† indicates shared drive)

References
  1. "Renault revives Gordini". Renault. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  2. "Renault Sport range". Renault. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  3. Smith, Roy P (2010). "The Winds of Change: 1974–1979". Alpine Renault: – The fabulous berlinettes. Veloce Publishing. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-1-845844-04-2.
  4. Lawrence, Mike (1996). "Gordini". A to Z of Sports Cars, 1945–1990. A to Z. Motorbooks International. ISBN 1-870979-81-8.
  5. "Constructors: Gordini (Equipe Gordini)". Grandprix.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  6. "Gordini" (PDF). Renault. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  7. "Renault Manufacturer Profile & Rally History". Rallye-info.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  8. Smith, Roy (2008). "Gordini the name on the engine". Alpine and Renault: The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car 1968–1979. Veloce Publishing. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-1-84584-226-0.
  9. Cléon - Association RENAULT HISTOIRE Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine sur Association RENAULT HISTOIRE
  10. Joseph, Noah (10 November 2009). "Renault revives the Gordini name for exclusive line of hot hatches". Autoblog.
  11. "Renault-Gordini History". Renault Sport South Africa. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  12. Smith, Roy P (2013). "Gordinis for the Road and track: 1958–1979". Amedee Gordini: A True Racing Legend. Veloce Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 978-1-845843-17-5.
  13. "New Renault Clio RS Gordini Coming in 2014 with 230 HP". Autoevolution.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
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