Renault Etoile Filante
Encyclopedia
The Renault Étoile Filante (Shooting Star) was Renault
's first and only attempts at both a land speed record
car or a gas turbine
-powered car.
In 1954 the French
aeronautical turbine
s manufacturer Turboméca
proposed Renault making a gas turbine
technology engineered car for exalting the benefits of it and for trying to break the a speed record.
The car was tested in the wind tunnel
between 1954 and 1955. In 1956, Jean Hébert and a Renault Team went off to Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
. The car reached an average speed of 191 mph (307.4 km/h)http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/D167033B0D09A227C125780E004ADA63/$FILE/Liste%20Records%20Cat%20A-040111.pdf and reached the world record for turbine engined cars. This was also to promote sales from Renault's newest car in the United States
, the Dauphine
. The Etoile Filante later appeared at motor shows all over the world. However, in the early sixties, the end of the gas turbine era stopped Renault from making a second car. And its record was neglected.
In the mid 90's, it was decided that the car should be restored with a view to it running again. The car was completely dismantled in the workshops of Renault at the Billancourt
factory in Paris
, the chassis was resprayed and the engine repaired. In front of an expectant crowd, the car was fired up and moved under its own power for the first time since 1956. It's now conserved as a part of Renault's Historical Cars Collection.
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
's first and only attempts at both a land speed record
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
car or a gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
-powered car.
In 1954 the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
aeronautical turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
s manufacturer Turboméca
Turbomeca
Turbomeca is a French manufacturer of low- and medium-power gas turbine turboshaft engines for helicopters. The company also produces gas turbine engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbines for land, industrial and marine applications...
proposed Renault making a gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
technology engineered car for exalting the benefits of it and for trying to break the a speed record.
The car was tested in the wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
between 1954 and 1955. In 1956, Jean Hébert and a Renault Team went off to Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. The car reached an average speed of 191 mph (307.4 km/h)http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/D167033B0D09A227C125780E004ADA63/$FILE/Liste%20Records%20Cat%20A-040111.pdf and reached the world record for turbine engined cars. This was also to promote sales from Renault's newest car in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Dauphine
Renault Dauphine
Renault Dauphine is a rear-engined economy car manufactured by Renault in one body style — a three-box, four-door sedan — as the successor to the Renault 4CV, with over two million examples marketed worldwide during its production from 1956-1967....
. The Etoile Filante later appeared at motor shows all over the world. However, in the early sixties, the end of the gas turbine era stopped Renault from making a second car. And its record was neglected.
In the mid 90's, it was decided that the car should be restored with a view to it running again. The car was completely dismantled in the workshops of Renault at the Billancourt
Billancourt
Billancourt is a commune in the Somme department in northern France....
factory in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the chassis was resprayed and the engine repaired. In front of an expectant crowd, the car was fired up and moved under its own power for the first time since 1956. It's now conserved as a part of Renault's Historical Cars Collection.