Renault Espace F1

The Espace F1 is a prototype car designed in partnership between Matra, Renault and Williams. It was shown at the 1994 Paris motor show to mark ten years of the Espace, keeping the general shape of the Espace II but fitting a Formula One V10 engine behind the seats, and its design is by Thierry Metroz. Two were made, a running car and a static mock-up. The project began in April 1994 with Gerard Ducarouge as project leader and Eric Bernard as test driver, with MOC Composites building the prototypes. A plan to have Ayrton Senna arrive on the grid of the 1994 French Grand Prix in it was dropped after his death. The running car uses a Renault RS5 3.5-litre V10 of 780 horsepower, the same as the Williams FW15C, with a Williams six-speed semi-automatic gearbox, a carbon fibre tunnel and chassis, carbon brakes and the steel front structure of an Espace II. Alain Prost drove it first, and it opened the Silverstone and Magny-Cours Grands Prix.