Renault Le Car Tc

The Renault Le Car Turbo was one of a kind, built in Belleville, Michigan shop.This tiny mid-engine, rear wheel drive car looked attractive and was far away from the GTU standards set by the Mazda RX7s, Datsun Zs and Porsche 911s alike. After a pair of RS seasons, Patrick Jacquemart, Renault USA Manager of Competition, thought that time had come to search for new battle grounds in IMSA. Katech was responsible for building the engine, as it was for the Champion Spark Plug Challenge car. The team would make the small 4 cylinder pushrod 1,4L Tc engine give 260hp, but you had to push hard in high revs. The car, which would suffer from turbo lag, would become competitive whenever the turbo was able to compress air at high revs. The car, which had been successful in World Rally Championship, was not purposely designed for road racing. The chassis had been stiffened without gaining any extra weight. The center of gravity had been lowered and the weight distribution was 40% front and 60% rear. The engine sported a different fuel injection system, turbocharger, pistons, camshaft and dry sump lubrication system. 260hp would propel the car to speeds up to 250km/h. Wide fender flares had been added to allow for wide Goodyear racing tires. A huge air dam and a big rear wing added to the aerodynamic evolution of the car. The car was literally stuck to the ground and quickly became a crowd's favorite. Patrick Jacquemart had won the SCCA Northeast Division Championship before running a Renault Le Car in the Champion Spark Plug series. He became Renault USA Manager of Competition in 1977. By 1980, he had set his mark on the series and won three races and set five pole positions. In GTU competition, he would also enjoy some fine results, with two third places in his two first races! Unfortunately, after two more races, Patrick Jacquemart would be killed at Mid Ohio while testing the car. The project was dropped, as the car never reappeared. This fine car would not be run for more than a half season. No Renault Le Car Tc would be ever seen again, which was a pity. The car could do well, and was only at the beginning of its development. No one will ever know what it could have done. It sure looked terrific!