I've read the 'Clio V6 Story' a couple of times now, and it really is a great book to begin to understand how the Clio V6 came about. The compressed timescales for creating the car, from an idea to concept to racing is truly staggering, especially as 3 main subcontractors, the giant parent Renault organisation and the 'Alpine' organisation were involved.
To get all these diverse groups working together to create something brand new and quite complex in little more than 12 months is amazing, especially when you start to look at the work involved. I've broken out the main 'events' below in a kind of diary fashion, just to see what sort of time each phase took to complete. I think that it would have been a very high pressure environment in which to work!
It's only when the main events are broken down into some sort of chronological sequence like this you can really see the vast amount of work being completed in such a short time.
There are obviously some 'events' missing from the timeline, such as the track test / demonstration of the concept track car before the gearbox and engine had been designed, let alone developed. Presumably it ran with a more standard engine and transmission, but it would be interesting to get that sort of information in the timeline as well.
I've also added the few milestone events into the production of the road car...the book ends in 1999 just as TWR are testing their prototype cars, and haven't started production yet.
Is there anybody in the club who worked at TWR who can fill in the prototype and production main events? That also goes for development of the Ph2 road car, and of course the move of production from Sweden to Dieppe....both huge changes.
Anyway, have a look and see if you have any snippets that can be added...and try and imagine being on the receiving end of the demands of the RenaultSport team driving this project through!
Mark
Development and Production Diary
Dec 97
Renault withdraws from F1.
The F1 committee meets at St-Tropez to consider how to continue promoting the Renault marque in motorsport. They quickly decided on developing a track version of a Clio with a mid engine V6 engine, from which a road version could be developed.
Feb 98 – Jun 98
Design and requirement concepts / specifications developed for both race and road cars.
Apr 98
Solution F contracted to develop and build the V6 race engine to the RenaultSport design brief.
Jun 98
MOC Composites contracted to build full scale master body from standard Clio body supplied by Renault. Having produced this quickly, MOC were contracted to deliver two prototype cars; The 'Route' (road car, codename R1) and the 'Course (race car, codename C1) ready for the Paris Motorshow in September.
Jun 98
Sadev contracted to design and build the straight cut six speed sequential gearbox with ECU controlled gearshift for the race Trophy car. Specification finalised in July.
Jul 98
In Mid July, the concept road car, finished in grey, was completed by MOC.
Aug 98
By the end of August, the concept race car, finished in Pearlecent Yellow, was completed by MOC.
Sep 98, Paris
Clio V6 launched at Motorshow.
Oct 98
22nd – 25th At the Renault International Finals meeting at Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, Jean Ragnotti gives the Renault Sport Clio V6 Trophy (C1 ?) it's first track demonstration.
The car is presented to the public by Christian Contzen
Oct 98
End of month. Magneti-Marelli contracted to provide the engine's electronic management system. Development work on the engine begins.
Nov 98
Sadev starts to produce gearbox components for the road car
Nov 98
TWR appointed to produce the development and production feasibility study for the road car with RenaultSport. To be completed within 2 months.
Nov 98
C2 prototype begins runs at 5 circuits:- Le Luc, Le Grand Sambuc, SEERTA, Le Castellet and Nogaro.
Dec 98
MOC Composites start to built the 100 (or so) Clio V6 Trophy bodyshells, and have a target of 3 months in which to complete the work.
Jan 99
Sadev starts to deliver the race gearboxes to RenaultSport.
Feb 99
First prototype race engine completed. 10 other prototype engines completed between Oct 98 and Mar 99.
Mar 99
85 standard V6 engines delivered to Solution F for modification.
Mar 99
15th – First 7 Clio V6s tested by the press, running for the first time at Pont l'Eveque circuit in Normandy (pre-production cars?)
Apr 99
MOC Composites complete delivery of the 100 bodyshells to RenaultSport (Dieppe).
Apr 99
11th, RenaultSport (Dieppe) Solution F complete delivery of 85 fully developed race engines.
Apr 99
RenaultSport (Dieppe) build the 85 race cars required for the Trophy Series. The cars are built by 25 personnel on 11 stations in a 2000 square meter facility.
Apr 99
15th Delivery of completed cars starts.
Apr 99
17th / 18th - Track Debut at LeMans Bugatti. 80 RenaultSport Clio competitors tried the cars for the first time.
Apr 99 Jamara Circuit, Spain
25th - Competitors line up for the first race in the Clio Trophy series.
Jun 99
End of month. Contract awarded to TWR to produce the road car, to be build at TWR facility in Sweden. Target for launch in Autumn 2000.
Note: Presumably between feasibility study completion in Jan 99 and Jun 99, TWR were given the go-ahead to produce several prototype cars (shown in book as black – suspension development, white – first crash tests, yellow, braking evaluation).
Who designed / developed the road engine and gearbox?
Jul 99
TWR conduct first full scale crash tests on road car prototype (blue)
Jul 00
(this was the scheduled start of production from the press release...actual start date unknown, but probably delayed as cars weren't available until end of 00).
Production starts at TWR Uddevalla, where the cars are built from components supplied by Renault.
The base Clio bodyshell is provided by the Renault Flins factory, in white, complete with bonnet, doors and tailgate. TWR modify the shell to Clio V6 specification, building the rear stucture and subframes on site.
The Douvrin factory (Française de Mécanique PSA - Renault) supplies the engines, and the Renault Cléon factory supply the gearboxes. The Grand Couronne site collects and delivers those parts from the range which are not specific to the Clio Renault Sport V6.
Some 12 cars are produced a day.
Nov 00
Press launch for the road Clio V6
Jun 01 (?)
First production cars delivered to UK.
??? 02
TWR undertakes the design and development of the Ph2 car
Dec 02 (?)
TWR declared bankrupt.
?? 02
Production transferred from TWR to RenaultSport (Dieppe) for Ph2 car
Apr 03
Ph 2 production car announced.
Oct 05 (?)
Production of the V6 Clio stops.
To get all these diverse groups working together to create something brand new and quite complex in little more than 12 months is amazing, especially when you start to look at the work involved. I've broken out the main 'events' below in a kind of diary fashion, just to see what sort of time each phase took to complete. I think that it would have been a very high pressure environment in which to work!
It's only when the main events are broken down into some sort of chronological sequence like this you can really see the vast amount of work being completed in such a short time.
There are obviously some 'events' missing from the timeline, such as the track test / demonstration of the concept track car before the gearbox and engine had been designed, let alone developed. Presumably it ran with a more standard engine and transmission, but it would be interesting to get that sort of information in the timeline as well.
I've also added the few milestone events into the production of the road car...the book ends in 1999 just as TWR are testing their prototype cars, and haven't started production yet.
Is there anybody in the club who worked at TWR who can fill in the prototype and production main events? That also goes for development of the Ph2 road car, and of course the move of production from Sweden to Dieppe....both huge changes.
Anyway, have a look and see if you have any snippets that can be added...and try and imagine being on the receiving end of the demands of the RenaultSport team driving this project through!
Mark
Development and Production Diary
Dec 97
Renault withdraws from F1.
The F1 committee meets at St-Tropez to consider how to continue promoting the Renault marque in motorsport. They quickly decided on developing a track version of a Clio with a mid engine V6 engine, from which a road version could be developed.
Feb 98 – Jun 98
Design and requirement concepts / specifications developed for both race and road cars.
Apr 98
Solution F contracted to develop and build the V6 race engine to the RenaultSport design brief.
Jun 98
MOC Composites contracted to build full scale master body from standard Clio body supplied by Renault. Having produced this quickly, MOC were contracted to deliver two prototype cars; The 'Route' (road car, codename R1) and the 'Course (race car, codename C1) ready for the Paris Motorshow in September.
Jun 98
Sadev contracted to design and build the straight cut six speed sequential gearbox with ECU controlled gearshift for the race Trophy car. Specification finalised in July.
Jul 98
In Mid July, the concept road car, finished in grey, was completed by MOC.
Aug 98
By the end of August, the concept race car, finished in Pearlecent Yellow, was completed by MOC.
Sep 98, Paris
Clio V6 launched at Motorshow.
Oct 98
22nd – 25th At the Renault International Finals meeting at Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, Jean Ragnotti gives the Renault Sport Clio V6 Trophy (C1 ?) it's first track demonstration.
The car is presented to the public by Christian Contzen
Oct 98
End of month. Magneti-Marelli contracted to provide the engine's electronic management system. Development work on the engine begins.
Nov 98
Sadev starts to produce gearbox components for the road car
Nov 98
TWR appointed to produce the development and production feasibility study for the road car with RenaultSport. To be completed within 2 months.
Nov 98
C2 prototype begins runs at 5 circuits:- Le Luc, Le Grand Sambuc, SEERTA, Le Castellet and Nogaro.
Dec 98
MOC Composites start to built the 100 (or so) Clio V6 Trophy bodyshells, and have a target of 3 months in which to complete the work.
Jan 99
Sadev starts to deliver the race gearboxes to RenaultSport.
Feb 99
First prototype race engine completed. 10 other prototype engines completed between Oct 98 and Mar 99.
Mar 99
85 standard V6 engines delivered to Solution F for modification.
Mar 99
15th – First 7 Clio V6s tested by the press, running for the first time at Pont l'Eveque circuit in Normandy (pre-production cars?)
Apr 99
MOC Composites complete delivery of the 100 bodyshells to RenaultSport (Dieppe).
Apr 99
11th, RenaultSport (Dieppe) Solution F complete delivery of 85 fully developed race engines.
Apr 99
RenaultSport (Dieppe) build the 85 race cars required for the Trophy Series. The cars are built by 25 personnel on 11 stations in a 2000 square meter facility.
Apr 99
15th Delivery of completed cars starts.
Apr 99
17th / 18th - Track Debut at LeMans Bugatti. 80 RenaultSport Clio competitors tried the cars for the first time.
Apr 99 Jamara Circuit, Spain
25th - Competitors line up for the first race in the Clio Trophy series.
Jun 99
End of month. Contract awarded to TWR to produce the road car, to be build at TWR facility in Sweden. Target for launch in Autumn 2000.
Note: Presumably between feasibility study completion in Jan 99 and Jun 99, TWR were given the go-ahead to produce several prototype cars (shown in book as black – suspension development, white – first crash tests, yellow, braking evaluation).
Who designed / developed the road engine and gearbox?
Jul 99
TWR conduct first full scale crash tests on road car prototype (blue)
Jul 00
(this was the scheduled start of production from the press release...actual start date unknown, but probably delayed as cars weren't available until end of 00).
Production starts at TWR Uddevalla, where the cars are built from components supplied by Renault.
The base Clio bodyshell is provided by the Renault Flins factory, in white, complete with bonnet, doors and tailgate. TWR modify the shell to Clio V6 specification, building the rear stucture and subframes on site.
The Douvrin factory (Française de Mécanique PSA - Renault) supplies the engines, and the Renault Cléon factory supply the gearboxes. The Grand Couronne site collects and delivers those parts from the range which are not specific to the Clio Renault Sport V6.
Some 12 cars are produced a day.
Nov 00
Press launch for the road Clio V6
Jun 01 (?)
First production cars delivered to UK.
??? 02
TWR undertakes the design and development of the Ph2 car
Dec 02 (?)
TWR declared bankrupt.
?? 02
Production transferred from TWR to RenaultSport (Dieppe) for Ph2 car
Apr 03
Ph 2 production car announced.
Oct 05 (?)
Production of the V6 Clio stops.
