Renault Etolie Filante And Dauphine
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of its
four world records at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Renault Etoile Filante
recently returned to Utah alongside a Renault Dauphine, also celebrating its
60th birthday.
In 1956, the Etoile Filante ('shooting
star' in French) set a new world speed record of 192 mph (308.9 km/h) in a
standing kilometer and an average of 192 mph (308.85 km/h) over a 5 km stretch
on the salt flats, a record which still stands today.
Allowing the Filante to be so fast was
its aerodynamic polyester body built around a tubular steel chassis and powered
by a turbine engine developing 270 hp.
The French marque
brought along an original Dauphine, a model which first went on sale in America
six decades ago. With Formula E driver Nicolas Prost behind the wheel, it reach
76.5 mph (123.1 km/h) to set a new class record for a car produced between 1928
and 1981 with an engine between 754 cc and 1,015 cc.
