Renault reveals 1,300bhp F1 concept car for 2027

2017 F1 season

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Renault has envisaged how Formula One could look in ten years’ time with its R.S. 2027 Vision concept car.

The French manufacturer, which first entered F1 40 years ago, sees F1 in ten years’ time as being a “more human-centric championship with drivers at the heart of the sport”. Reflecting this its 2027 car design features “a transparent cockpit and a transparent helmet that allow the drivers to be seen in the heat of the action”.

Its R.S. 2027 Vision car would have 1,341bhp and weight 600 kilograms. The car’s fuel tank would be half the size of the 105kg tanks used today and the hybrid unit would operate in electric-only mode when the car is in the pits.

The design also features active LED lighting in its wheels, moveable wings, a cockpit canopy, four-wheel-drive and four-wheel steering. To improve safety an “autonomous mode” can be “activated in the case of an accident”.

Renault RS 2027 Vision F1 concept car

Renault is the latest manufacturer to reveal a future F1 concept car design. Ferrari and McLaren also did so in 2015:

Ferrari F1 concept, 2015

Ferrari future F1 car rendering

McLaren MP4-X, 2015

McLaren MP4-X

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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66 comments on “Renault reveals 1,300bhp F1 concept car for 2027”

  1. Why wait 10 years, let’s do it ASAP!

    1. Best concept F1 car Ive seen so far!!

      1. what iis it that gives the frence the edge when it comes to design of concept vehicals? that thing just looks that much more Sexy than ‘British Engenering’ and ‘Smooth Italian Flare’
        if ti ever makes it to the track it may not be a race winner but it will be the headturner.

    2. This concept looks like a video game… and that’s not a good thing. Zero connection to anything plausible…

      Why not make it shoot lasers, and jump? Might as well, its about as likely as transparent helmets and 1300 bhp in 10 years.

    3. Formula E, and its robot racing sub series might be starting to nudge the F1 community consciousness in to a more aggressive design gear.

      The fact is, there are other people out these with great ideas like these, and generation after generation growing up with fantastic machines in their games and their videos and in their imaginations.

      So someone, given time, will produce a series with cars like these. F1 needs to be relevant and fantastic. The new management might have a lot of say about these concepts going forward. Especially if Formula E starts looking amazing and getting faster and faster.

    4. Just to show what Formula E may look like next season:

      http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128081

      It’s a different Formula, but if it shows what can be done, and people like it. Formula 1 will pay attention.

      1. And finally the Roborace car.

        http://roborace.com

  2. Great! Now let’s slap a T-Wing on it!

  3. very unrealistic, unfortunately.

  4. I can see McLaren is still keeping faith with Honda, well into the future.

    1. This is the McLa future

  5. You all do realised that all the concept f1 car has a tall front wing endplate. Perhaps a tall front wing endplate will help cars slipstream better as compared to shorter endplate current gen front wing.

  6. I like it, I think open wheel designs must remain in F1 otherwise they start looking like LP cars (McLaren example). Somehow the closed cockpits look great when designed well. Can we have these now please?

  7. Hmm, is there any air in that wheels? Looks like rubber only. Also this car looks like it would take redefine f1 expensiveness and take it to another dimension to another dimension.

  8. Why no Mercedes car? Maybe they’ve left because they were beating everyone and started their own racing series.

  9. Pity that after 10 years they still have an obsession with nearly all black cars.
    It’s not Batman guys.

  10. You can’t look at 2007’s cars, look at 2017’s cars, and then tell me that in 2027 the cars are going to look as drastically different as this…

    1. Excellent point, at least the McLaren rendering looks realistic, this looks like something from an Arcade racing game

  11. Come on. Let’s make it 2020.

  12. Fukobayashi (@)
    19th April 2017, 9:43

    I see Verstappen taking his 4th WDC in one of these… maybe.

  13. I dunno, with these modern designs, I always feel very weird picturing them going very fast on a normal racetrack, with trees and buildings and such in the background. This belongs in Minority Report, and whilst I definitely find it exciting, I can’t picture twenty of these going wheel to wheel into the first corner. Maybe it’s how radical they are. After all, today’s cars look radical compared to 1990, but still, this is all a bit too fast.

  14. Hmm, curious. In the side view, there’s a rear wing; seems to be missing in all the other shots. Am I going blind?

    1. In the text it says it have moveable wings, and if you look at the picture from the rear you can see that it looks like the wing is lowered, folded in, you can see what i geuss is the gap between body and wing (the black “line”).
      And I geuss from the side view it´s up. :)

      Hope you see what I mean.

      1. Aha!
        Got it.

      2. Its called DRS.

    2. moveable wings like the new Porsche Panamera Turbo.

  15. Don’t like it so much to be honest. But what’s absolutely terrible is Renault’s suggestions for what F1 should be in the future. I mean, fanboost? Seriously?

    1. they didn’t say Fanboost did they? worst gimic ever that

      1. By that time the ‘fan voted driver of the day’ probably get’s an extra championship point…

        1. Thus we already that VER will have at least 19 points in 2017 and 1 point for Haryanto ;p
          @jeffreyj

  16. What a waste of time and effort…

  17. Shaun Robinson (@)
    19th April 2017, 10:54

    I love the look of these concept cars, very radical and futuristic looking. However, to match the look of these cars I wish we could have a futuristic looking racetrack: big banked tracks with lights absolutely everywhere – somewhat video game like. If you have seen the drone racing league, that’s sort of what I mean. Today’s F1 is similar to drone racing around a field, tomorrow’s F1 could be the spectacle that the DRL has now.

  18. “Electric only in the pits” was in the regs several years ago, but the loud engine brigade got it removed before it came into force.

    1. Because quiet engines are dangerous in the pits, mechanics can’t hear them coming and get hit. I’ve almost gotten hit by several toyota priuses. Not that I would’ve noticed much…

      1. @marciare-o-marcire, I believe that, in the WEC, the LMP1-H cars have been running on battery power in the pits for several years now (I think that it’s been like that since 2012). As far as I am aware, there have been no problems at all in the pit lane when those cars have been coming into the pits.

        Realistically though, this car is never going to ever come to fruition – this really is little more than a wild flight of fancy to drum up a bit of attention for the team.

    2. The whole “electric power ONLY in the pits is utterly retarded. An electric car going 60mph will hurt you just as bad as a diesel going 60mph… total gimmick.

  19. I think it looks kinda hideous to be honest.

    1. @stefmeister
      Agreed, the front wing is ugly, and the proportions are all wrong, almost like they designed two cars and tried to make a hybrid out of the parts.

  20. So in the future there are no need for mirrors because we shouldn’t be concerned about our past! Well played Renault, you thought I wouldn’t figure out your philosophy! No but really this concept would be more likely something we will see in Formula E. I hope by then Forumla E will be racing on F1 style tracks and can last a full race distance at full throttle on one charge. F1 in 10 years will probably look like the cars from 2006 all over again and wondering how they can make overtaking better all over again whilst using 7 ounces of fuel in race and Ferrari cheating using zero gravity devices to make their cars lighter.

  21. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
    19th April 2017, 12:43

    What should be applied right now is to make the front wing as simple and narrow as possible. Get less turbulence and allows closer battles.

  22. Easy to draw in those narrow cockpits but not so easy to implement…visibility…keeping them clean…controlling temp and condensation inside…dealing with rain races…extracting a driver if the car is upside down….getting at and stabilizing a drivers head and neck especially if the car is upside down.

    If F1 wants enclosed cockpits they are going to have to be way wider like in WEC to accommodate wipers, side doors for access, fans or what have you inside for cooling and condensation etc etc. ie. Enclosed cockpits would mean an entirely different product on the track than what F1 traditionally has been for decades.

  23. So Honda only have 10 years to get to 1300bhp….

  24. I like the hexagonal-diamond exhaust shape of the prototype, is there anything in the current technical regulations that would forbid them from doing that? I don’t see any performance (dis)advantage it’s just more of a unique talking point about the car.

    1. I think the word you mean is “gimmick”… leave those on the road cars please.

  25. I would love transparent helmets. Might look weird at first but it will help the sport a lot. Right now, we just hear Fernando’s frustration, it would be great to see it as well. As well as a smile or a pump or a finger being shown from one driver to the other.

  26. Absolute nonsense. Considering the look of F1 cars is determined purely by the regulations. Function defines form with absolute precision.

    1. Can’t say I care for this direction at all. If anything, the side view reminds me of a ’34 Ford extrapolated 80+ years. Of all the Renders so far, Ferrari is the only one I really thought could actually become a reality. However, as was aptly stated, F1 cars are a function of the rules, nothing more. Give the guys a set of rules and they all produce similar cars. This years rules opened a few areas up to interpretation, but soon the FIA will focus on those ‘grey’ areas they did not see coming..ie Shark Fins and T wings.
      All I can say for certain, is this years cars are easily the best looking cars in 20 years. The racing is also better, as the extra mechanical grip is allowing for some super passing which the pundits said could not happen. I think we have seen some of the finest non-drs passes in the 1st 3 races as we did all last year, if we of course remove Brazil.

    2. @psynrg Sometimes the regulations are formed to ensure a pleasing appearance.

    3. Exactly!
      Perfecty said, sir.

  27. Renault have produced a terrific design which addresses a wide range of issues, particularly the need to make drivers less anonymous and literally more visible to the spectators and the TV audience. The Lexan cockpit canopy is a far better solution than the abysmally ugly ‘Halo’ which is likely to be imposed on the Formula from next year, and there are a number of technical solutions available for the visibility issues. But perhaps most significantly, when placed next to an image of a typical ‘bitty’ 2017 car, the new Renault design looks composed, stylish and elegant, befitting the cost and knowledge levels of this elite level of motorsport. Design of this quality could certainly be developed and produced in time for the scheduled major regulation changes expected in 2020. As a ‘manufacturer’ team, the benefits to Renault could be tangible if marketed correctly, represented by increased sales of their affordable road vehicles worldwide. Few of us can splurge on a roadgoing Ferrari, McLaren or even a Mercedes Benz, but Renault is in a fine position to convert sporting achievement into sales. And with Fernando back in the (visible) driving seat, World Championships beckon once again…

    1. I think the car looks ultra cool but I don’t think a narrow cockpit like this works in reality. I think it would cause more problems than it would solve and I certainly don’t see how it would enhance visibility of the driver.

      That said…just take off the canopy and I think they’ve got something.

    2. No intent to offend, but you guys sound like children..F1 cars as not “designed”, in the sense of looking one way or another.
      Their shape is the product of optimal calculations, which means they look as “good” as they possibly can, within given regulations.

      This concept’s shape otoh, is simply an exercise of someone’s imagination and is actually far less advanced and functional than what we can see racing on tracks.

      1. @darko Can’t entirely agree with you there, since for example they didn’t have to sweep the front and rear wings back this year other than to make the cars look faster standing still. They’ve already talked about getting rid of the T-wings and the shark fins as their performance advantages may not outweigh people’s general dislike for them aesthetically. They often talk about cars needing to be aesthetically pleasIng, so no, cars are not always designed strictly to the regs, or put another way sometimes the regs are designed so the cars will look more pleasing. They’ve talked about the possibility of lower profile tires too, more for appearance sake than performance.

        But I do agree with you that concepts are just concepts and don’t necessarily take into account function and reality.

  28. All its missing is a sharkfin to advertise the new Twingo and a teletubbie aerial

  29. Just does not look aero optimised…

  30. I find it amusing and sad that in the video the driver’s sex is ambiguous. His/Her/it’s facial features look like they could belong to either male or female. Very in line with the slow but steady abolition of the sexes.

  31. This is boring. As a kid in the mid 90’s, playing WipeOut on the PlayStation 1 made me believe F1 would evolve into an anti gravity formula by 2030.

  32. And it still won’t be able to overtake !! GET RID OF THE FRONT WING !!!!

  33. Josh (@canadianjosh)
    19th April 2017, 20:39

    Jeez, I think they should have said 2040 or 50. In 10 years they won’t look like that. You’ll have prolly 4 or 5 years of what we have then another major overhaul and I just can’t see it being that stupid looking concept.

  34. I hate concept cars like this that obviously bear no relation to anything with the slightest chance of actually getting built. It’s just pointless wanking by some artists in a design studio somewhere. Newey’s Red Bull X2010 seemed far out, but you could tell actual engineering thought was put into the design, and now its general arrangement has been brought into the real world as the Aston Martin Valkyrie.

  35. Sergey Martyn
    20th April 2017, 13:24

    Can someone please tell me what is the purpose of “active LED lighting in its wheels”?
    To imitate the glowing brakes?

  36. Awful and non-functional. How are drivers going to see with that stupidly high and long nose?

  37. Hotwheels toy car designer gets job at Renault.

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