These are the 20 coolest (and strangest) cars from Renault's massive museum sale

As Renault prepares to open a massive new museum near Paris in 2027, it’s having to do some shuffling around of its collection of cars. We’re told that it currently consists of more than 800 vehicles from the French carmaker’s back catalogue, but the plan is to get that down to around 600 by selling off some of the duplicates.

And yet, some of the lots heading to auction in this first batch seem pretty first-rate to us, so we’ve been through the Artcurial Motorcars catalogue to pick out our favourites. The auction itself will take place at the site of the new museum in Flins-sur-Seine on 7 December, and apparently more than 90 per cent of the lots will be offered without reserve. Chance to grab a weird and wonderful bargain? Let’s find out…
 

Estimate: €10,000 – €15,000

Known as the Caravelle in the UK and North America, the Floride was launched in 1959 with a campaign featuring Brigitte Bardot. This particular car was actually used for the opening of the Euro Disney theme park in 1992 and has a reinforced bonnet and boot so that people could sit on it for pictures. 

Estimate: €6,000 – €8,000

This is one of the last original Renault 5s built, and as it was donated to Renault’s collection with a number of bumps and scrapes (what 5 doesn’t have that?) the team gave it a fun police-style livery.
 

Estimate: €20,000 – €30,000

In 2021, Renault’s collection staff restored five original 4s to celebrate the model’s 60th birthday. It then shipped them off to Dutch specialist EV Europe to have them converted to run on electricity. This F4 van is one of them, and it’s now finished in the colours of the French electrical goods shop Darty. Apparently the new powertrain makes 30bhp and provides a range of 62 miles. 

Estimate: €6,000 – €10,000

How cool is this? This was the actual Twingo II concept car that went on display at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. It has a full glass roof, wide arches and Renaultsport Clio wheels, but can only be moved at low speed. Looks like a proper little hot hatch though, doesn’t it?

Estimate: €4,000 – €6,000

Another concept car that we’d severely like to own for no real reason. This was a Trafic van turned into a ‘leisure vehicle’ for the Brussels Motor Show in 2004. It can’t be registered for the road sadly, but it does get a proper 2.5-litre diesel engine, a shortened chassis, raised ride height and permanent four-wheel drive. You’ll have also noticed that it’s technically now a pickup, and there are two extra jump seats in the bed.

Estimate: €20,000 – €30,000

Easily one of Renault’s coolest ever production cars, this is a prototype of the Spider that was used by Renaultsport to test a new sequential gearbox. Unfortunately it now has neither engine nor gearbox. D’oh!

Estimate: €12,000 – €18,000

This Spider Trophy is also lacking a beating heart, but it could be rebuilt to the spec of the original one-make race cars and would make an excellent trackday toy. Just need to find a 180bhp engine from the Clio Williams lying around.

Estimate: €3,000 – €6,000

This is the kind of bonkers stuff that you’re here for, isn’t it? Again it’s a protoype that can only be driven at low speeds, but it’s a six-wheeled Clio pickup for goodness sake. It was apparently built at the Flins factory in 2001 as part of the metalwork training for production workers.

Estimate: €4,000 – €8,000

Chausson was a French manufacturer of vehicle bodies, radiators and buses, but in the late 1980s it unveiled its Projet d'Études et de Recherches d'une Ligne Européenne (better known as P.E.R.L.E.) concept car to attract new business. It was first displayed at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show, but then also appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in 1989 complete with the four-cylinder engine from a Renault 11.

Estimate: €15,000 – €20,000

This Renault 21 Turbo – prepped for rallying in Group N and then Group A – competed in the European Rally Championship in 1988, 1989 and 1990, where it was driven by none other than Carlos Tavares. Yep, this was while the future COO was just a development engineer at Renault, but now that he’s left Stellantis will he be wanting to buy it back?

Estimate: €30,000 – €40,000

This is a genuine Laguna British Touring Car Championship car from the 1994 season. There’s no definitive record of where this particular car raced, but it has Alain Menu’s name and number on the side. Shame it doesn’t have an engine…
 

Estimate: €250,000 – €500,000

Onto some of the big money stuff. This V6 turbo A442 was the very first example built, but it was the reserve car that went unused when Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won Le Mans in 1978. It was driven by Gérard Larrousse and Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the 1975 endurance racing season, though, and competed in the Bendix colours at Le Mans in 1977. The drivers that day were Pironi, René Arnoux and Guy Fréquelin, but unfortunately all four A442s retired during the race.

Estimate: €250,000 – €350,000

Historic F1 cars always command big money, and this one was driven by René Arnoux and Alain Prost. Renault secured ten pole positions and four victories throughout the 1982 season, but this particular car was mostly used by both drivers for testing before Arnoux crashed it at the British Grand Prix. Woops. 
 

Estimate: €500,000 – €800,000

This very RE40 competed in five Grands Prix in the 1983 season, securing two pole positions and winning one race in the hands of Alain Prost. Unfortunately, Prost would go on to finish second in the World Championship, missing out on the title by just two points. Ouch.

Estimate: €300,000 –  €500,000

Another RE40, this car was mostly used by Prost for private testing before he drove it at the 1983 United States Grand Prix at Long Beach, finishing 11th overall. 
 

Estimate: €350,000 – €700,000

With its JPS livery and a turbocharged Renault engine, the 95T led Lotus to a third-place finish in the constructors’ standings in 1984 despite neither Nigel Mansell or Elio de Angelis claiming a single victory. This one finished second at the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix with De Angelis at the wheel. 
 

Estimate: €800,000 – €1,200,000

This is chassis number three of the 1997 world championship-winning, V10-engined Williams FW19. It was the final Williams designed under the direction of Adrian Newey and this car was driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Estimate: €200,000 – €300,000

Unfortunately this Benetton has had its Renault V10 removed, but we’re assured that in the 1997 season this very car took Jean Alesi to three podium finishes.

Estimate: €6,000 – €10,000

How cool is this? It’s a one-off creation based on a Formula Campus single-seater that was presented at the 1993 Monaco Grand Prix. It’s all-electric and was apparently put together in just six weeks by “a small team of Renault’s staff”.
 

Estimate: €2,000 – €4,000

Now, we’ve never seen the 1987 film Lévy and Goliath, but it sounds completely bonkers and we desperately want this wacky 21 that was created for its production. A lower end estimate of just €2,000 seems like a bargain.