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fab
17-01-2011, 18:00
I get the impression that reno are taking the piss with the plaque thing ie numbering their cars?
You know it's all well and good for a manufacturer to create something special and number it but I really do think they have lost the plot..
I cant think of any other manufacturer with as many so called "special edition" or "limited number" in their range of cars??
I know it's the renault sport group that are doing this but c'mon it's gone a bit far. There hasnt been anything special out of Renault since the Williams.

ThRaXaIR
17-01-2011, 18:52
172 exclusive... nothing special
Trophy..... Special
197 F1....so so
225 F1.....so so
R26......Special
R26:R.....So So Special!

fab
17-01-2011, 19:06
any of them certified for rallying? Their just track toys.
also your not likely to see any of them do safety car duty on a F1 track are you :wink:

Geeky
17-01-2011, 19:44
Need R26.R!

I didn't realise the Williams was used as an F1 safety car or certified for rallying out of the box in a way that other cars aren't. You have any more details on that?

I think the R26.R is certified to beat all other factory FF cars around Nurburgring, or atleast was.

northy
17-01-2011, 20:37
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/First-Official-Pictures/RenaultSport-Megane-N4-rally-car-first-pics/

2 live
17-01-2011, 22:39
i think he means more like the williams being built purely for homolgomation purposes to take advange of the new, at the time, regulations.

ThRaXaIR
17-01-2011, 22:54
The new meg 250 is used as safety in the renault world series.

Tommo
18-01-2011, 11:33
I agree fab, no other Renault is special like the Williams, the Clio Trophy came close but still doesn't have the same aura about it imo. I hear good things about the Meg, but I just can't get my head around the looks. Maybe I'm just a bit blinkered but tbh if I was to buy another car it wouldn't be a Renault as no other appeals to me really, it would have to be an Exige or maybe a P1 Impreza.

fab
18-01-2011, 14:17
i think he means more like the williams being built purely for homolgomation purposes to take advange of the new, at the time, regulations.
Yes 2live thats what i meant to say. you put it so eloquently :)

Geeky, there is a vid posted somewhere showing the willy doing safety car duty in argentina me thinks..think it's around here somewhere..

Northy, that N4 look's serious enough and kitted out with some fancy hardware also, but will it be a contender?

Lets ask the question..what makes a truly great classic?
Is it the heritage, the badge or the limited number?
Me personally, 1 thing which I think that makes a truly great classic is a car which is instantly recognizable by everyone, not just enthusiasts but even your granny will say..can we go out for a drive in the Williams:lol: and the Williams is just that type of car which everyone loves.

Yes I like limited runs of cars..many manufacturer's do it, but very few see the need to put a plaque on it. Last one i can remember was the Mini Works.
Thats why I ask is it just a french thing or does reno hope to get a few more sales by tweaking a megane/clio here and there or adding some fat tyres that cost a fortune to replace just for the sale?

stevie_b
18-01-2011, 15:31
Is it the heritage, the badge or the limited number?


A bit of all of the above, especially in the case of the Williams. It is odd that in our case most of the 'racing' heritage part is actually from the 16v which was used as the basis for the Cup cars, yet those are somewhat disregarded at the moment? With Williams seen as the 'collectors' choice from the outset and some tucked up in storage, etc. and valvers getting used and abused and scrapped could there be a day in the future when the valver is a rarer car than the Williams, with a greater racing pedigree, although I don't see this as making that the more desirable 'classic'?

As for the plaques it is not a unique thing for French cars. My Scooby has a limited edition run plaque (not that limited though, there were thousands of the Type R/RA Limited for each 'version' and also other 'limited' runs for Terzos, RB5, etc.). The Germans are also at it - I had been looking to buy an Alpina recently and they have a plaque with individual number in each one - it is great for being able to trace the provenance of a certain car and I found there were cars I could trace the ownership of right back through various owners via the Alpina forum.

fab
18-01-2011, 16:10
so it would be fair to say that adding a plaque or limited run to a car "generally" comes from a manufacturer's "sporting or tweaking" division (I'm sure there is a term for that:-))
stevie i can see where your coming from with the owners tracing the car history and everything but would you not agree that a "plaque" should really be reserved for cars that are truly ground breaking?
As i said before, nothing in my eyes that has come from reno since the williams is/was truly a rule changing or class leading icon. To me that is a success.

stevie_b
18-01-2011, 19:16
would you not agree that a "plaque" should really be reserved for cars that are truly ground breaking?

It would be a nice idea! I guess part of the issue comes from not knowing it is ground-breaking until they sell them and everyone agrees how good they are :lol: I guess the Williams they always knew it was going to be something special - I think they even surprised themselves with how it flew out of the showrooms which is why they then did the Williams 2 and 3!

I think the bulk of it is probably marketing-led rather than a certain department wanting to put their stamp on it. It's nice to feel that your car is that little bit 'special' and what better way to feel that than have a unique number assigned?

The Alpinas are a bit different - there were so few being made (altered!), and mainly by hand too, they may as well assign a number to each one. Not sure whether that continues today with the D3, etc. which I get the impression are a bit more 'mass market' than models of old?

2 live
18-01-2011, 20:14
Is it the heritage, the badge or the limited number?


A bit of all of the above, especially in the case of the Williams. It is odd that in our case most of the 'racing' heritage part is actually from the 16v which was used as the basis for the Cup cars, yet those are somewhat disregarded at the moment? With Williams seen as the 'collectors' choice from the outset and some tucked up in storage, etc. and valvers getting used and abused and scrapped could there be a day in the future when the valver is a rarer car than the Williams, with a greater racing pedigree, although I don't see this as making that the more desirable 'classic'?

As for the plaques it is not a unique thing for French cars. My Scooby has a limited edition run plaque (not that limited though, there were thousands of the Type R/RA Limited for each 'version' and also other 'limited' runs for Terzos, RB5, etc.). The Germans are also at it - I had been looking to buy an Alpina recently and they have a plaque with individual number in each one - it is great for being able to trace the provenance of a certain car and I found there were cars I could trace the ownership of right back through various owners via the Alpina forum.

toughy that. the clio cup, as most single make series are, was an advertising tool disguised as a race series imho. things like this are usually made to show the competance of the cars. unlike back in the day when the cars were taken straight out of the showroom on saturday and raced in the touring/sports car championships of the day on the sunday. like the cooper s/lotus cortina etc. in those days they were actually proving how good the cars were compared to their competitors, and doing so head to head.

the valver was a decent rally car, but from what i understand was left a bit lacking when the engine size was upped to 2.0. its competitors showing it a clean pair of heels. hence the renault sport boys tweeking it a little, playing with the engine, and releasing the homolgomation special......which coincided with mansell winning the f1 champ, and thats where the name came from....the rest as they say.....is history.