Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini became a division of Renault in 1968 and of Renault Sport in 1976.

History

Amédée Gordini tuned cars and competed in motor races since the 1930s. His results prompted Simca (the French assembler of Fiat) to hire him for its motorsport program and to develop road cars. Their association continued after World War II.

In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars bearing his name, Fiat-engined single-seaters raced by him and José Scaron, achieving several victories. In the late 1940s, the company opened a workshop at the Boulevard Victor in Paris, entering sports car and Grand Prix races. Gordini and Simca started to diverge in 1951 because of political conflicts.

Gordini competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956 (with a brief return in 1957 with an eight cylinder engine), although it achieved a major success in Formula Two during that period.

After its Formula One program ended, Gordini worked with Renault as an engine tuner, entering Renault-Gordini cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1962 and 1969. It also tuned engines for Alpine, a rival sports car manufacturer also associated with Renault. In 1957, Gordini and Renault manufactured the Dauphine Gordini, a modified version of the Renault Dauphine which was a sales success. Gordini-tuned Renault cars also won various rallies during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1963, the Gordini company planned to move its headquarters to Noisy-le-Roi. At the end of 1968, Amédée Gordini retired and sold a 70% majority stake from his firm to Renault. Renault-Gordini was moved to Viry-Châtillon in 1969 and became a sport division of Renault, before being merged with Alpine to form Renault Sport in 1976. On 1 January 1976, René Vuaillat became director of Gordini.Cléon - Association RENAULT HISTOIRE sur Association RENAULT HISTOIRE The Gordini company name became wholly owned by Renault in 1977.

Renault sold Gordini-badged performance versions of models including the Renault 5, the Renault 8 the Renault 12 and the Renault 17.

In November 2009, Renault announced that it would be reviving the Gordini name for an exclusive line of hot hatches, in a similar fashion to Fiat's revival of its Abarth name. Modern models to bear the name include the Renault Twingo and the Renault Clio.

Models

Dauphine Gordini (1957–1967) Renault 8 Gordini (1964–1970) Renault 12 Gordini (1970–1974) Renault 17 Gordini (1974–1978) Renault 5 Gordini (1979-1985) UK market only, sold elsewhere as the Renault 5 Alpine Clio Gordini RS (2010–present) Twingo Gordini (2010–present) Twingo Gordini RS (2010–present) Wind Gordini (2011–2013)

Car colours Since its early Renault models the most characteristic colour scheme of Gordini cars has been bleu de France (the French motor racing colour) with white stripes, although different combinations have been used over the years.

Formula One results (key) Year Chassis Engine Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Simca-Gordini Type 15 Gordini straight-4 GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA Robert Manzon Ret 4 Ret Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret Simca-Gordini Type 15 Gordini straight-4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP André Simon Ret Ret 6 Ret Robert Manzon Ret 7 Ret 9 Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret DNS Ret Aldo Gordini Ret Jean Behra Ret Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA Robert Manzon Ret 3 4 Ret Ret 5 14 Jean Behra 3 Ret 7 5 Ret Ret Johnny Claes 8 Prince Bira Ret 11 Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret 6 Ret Simca-Gordini Type 11 Simca straight-4 Max de Terra Ret Simca-Gordini Type 15 Gordini Straight-4 Prince Bira Ret 10 Johnny Claes Ret 14 DNQ Robert O'Brien NC Maurice Trintignant 5 Paul Frère Ret Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA Jean Behra 6 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret Maurice Trintignant 7† 6 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Harry Schell 7† Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 9 Robert Manzon Ret Carlos Menditeguy Ret Roberto Mieres NC Ret 6 Fred Wacker 9 Simca-Gordini Type 15 Gordini straight-4 Pablo Birger Ret Georges Berger Ret Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 ARG 500 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP Jean Behra DSQ Ret 6 10 Ret Ret Ret Élie Bayol 5 Roger Loyer Ret Paul Frère Ret Ret Ret André Pilette 5 9 Ret Jacques Pollet Ret Ret Georges Berger Ret Clemar Bucci Ret Ret Ret Ret Fred Wacker Ret 6 Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 ARG MON 500 BEL NED GBR ITA Élie Bayol Ret Ret Jesús Iglesias Ret Pablo Birger Ret Robert Manzon Ret Ret Ret Jacques Pollet 7 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret Mike Sparken 7 Jean Lucas Ret Gordini Type 32 Gordini straight-8 ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA André Pilette 6† DNS Élie Bayol 6† Robert Manzon 9 9 Ret Ret Hermano da Silva Ramos 8 Ret Ret André Milhoux Ret Gordini Type 16 Gordini straight-6 Hermano da Silva Ramos 5 Robert Manzon Ret André Pilette 11 André Simon 9 († indicates shared drive)

References