Pikes Peak hero Renault Sport R.S. 01 set to storm the Hill at Festival of Speed

Just weeks after tackling the 12.42-mile climb to the clouds in Colorado, Simonet will bring the Renault Sport R.S. 01 to the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, where it will swap mountain air for the famous Goodwood Hill. Its arrival lands perfectly within this year’s Americana Celebrations presented by Bank of America, connecting one of the United States’ most legendary motorsport challenges with the UK’s biggest celebration of speed.

Simonet’s 2026 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb run marked a major moment for Renault, as he finished third in the Open category, was the second-best rookie and placed 13^th overall from 73 competitors, stopping the clock at 9:59.9. Breaking the ten-minute barrier at Pikes Peak is a badge of honour; 156 corners, thin air, huge altitude incline and a summit sitting more than 14,000 feet above sea level makes it one of the toughest hillclimbs anywhere in the world.

Now, the same machine is set to unleash that drama at Goodwood. Originally created for the Renault Sport Trophy, the mid-engined R.S. 01 was already one of Renault’s most extreme modern racing cars. For Pikes Peak, Simonet, his team and an Alpine Cars engineer developed it into something even more focused, with its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 producing 629PS (456kW) in mountain specification.

At just 1,150kg and fitted with a new Garrett G25 turbo and revised engine mapping to cope with the altitude of the Colorado course, this is a car built to breathe where others struggle. At the Festival of Speed, it will run in a Renault Maxi 5 Turbo Superproduction-inspired livery — a knowing nod to another wild chapter in Renault’s performance story.

Its arrival adds to Renault’s thrilling Festival of Speed line-up. The brand is already set to bring together cars from rally legends, Formula 1 icons and the all-electric Renault 5 Turbo 3E, but Simonet’s R.S. 01 adds something different: a live, contemporary competition story still crackling with the energy of its Pikes Peak debut.

On the Hill and on the Renault stand, visitors will be able to trace a spectacular line from the pioneering Renault RS10 Formula 1 car and the Championship-winning Renault R25, to the 1985 Tour de Corse-winning Renault Maxi 5 Turbo and its radical electric successor, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E. The R.S. 01 now joins that story as a rare, extreme and unmistakably Renault performance vehicle — one still proving itself against the clock.

“Taking Renault to Pikes Peak for the first time was already an incredible adventure, but to bring the R.S. 01 to Goodwood so soon afterwards is something special,” said Valentin Simonet. “This car has been transformed for one of the toughest hillclimbs in the world, and now we get to share it with the fans at one of the greatest celebrations of motorsport. Goodwood is all about passion, noise, speed and history, and I cannot wait to run the Renault Sport R.S. 01 up the Hill.”

Tickets for the Festival of Speed are now sold out, with a limited number of hospitality packages still available. 

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