Gordini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gordini

Type	Division
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1946
Headquarters	Les Ulis , France
Parent	Renault Sport

Gordini (pronounced gor-dee-nee) is a special part of Renault Sport Technologies, which is a division of the car company Renault. In the past, Gordini used to make fast sports cars and improve regular cars to make them perform better.

The company was started in 1946 by a man named Amédée Gordini. People called him "Le Sorcier," which means "The Sorcerer," because he was so good at making cars faster. In 1968, Gordini became part of Renault, and then in 1976, it joined Renault Sport.

History of Gordini

1937 Simca-Gordini Type 5 Le Mans

1939 Simca-Gordini Type 8

1946 Simca-Gordini 11

1950 Simca-Gordini T15s, as raced, and retired, at the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans by José Froilán González and Juan Manuel Fangio

Gordini Type 16

Simca-Gordini Type 21S

Renault 8 Gordini

Renault Twingo RS Gordini

Clio Gordini

Renault 12 Gordini

Amédée Gordini started making cars better and racing them in the 1930s. He was very successful. Because of his great results, a French car company called Simca hired him. Simca wanted him to help with their racing cars and also to make their regular cars better. They worked together even after World War II.

In 1946, Gordini made his first cars with his own name on them. These were Fiat-engined single-seater racing cars. He and another driver, José Scaron, won many races with them. In the late 1940s, Gordini opened a workshop in Paris. His company started to enter sports car races and Grand Prix races. However, Gordini and Simca began to go their separate ways in 1951.

Gordini cars raced in Formula One from 1950 to 1956. They also had a brief return in 1957. Even though they didn't win a Formula One championship, they had a big success in Formula Two during that time.

After their Formula One racing stopped, Gordini started working with Renault. He helped make Renault's engines more powerful. Renault-Gordini cars raced in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race between 1962 and 1969. Gordini also improved engines for Alpine, another sports car company that worked with Renault.

In 1957, Gordini and Renault created the Dauphine Gordini. This was a changed version of the Renault Dauphine car. It was very popular and sold many units. Renault cars that Gordini had improved also won many rallies in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1968, Amédée Gordini decided to retire. He sold most of his company to Renault. In 1969, Renault-Gordini moved to a new location and became a special sports division of Renault. Later, in 1976, it joined with Alpine to form Renault Sport. The name Gordini became fully owned by Renault in 1977.

Renault has continued to sell special performance versions of its cars with the Gordini name. These include models like the Renault 5, the Renault 8, the Renault 12, and the Renault 17.

In 2009, Renault announced that they would bring back the Gordini name. They use it for special, sporty versions of their cars, like the Renault Twingo and the Renault Clio. These cars are known for being "hot hatches," which means they are small, sporty cars with a hatchback design.

Gordini Car Models

Here are some of the car models that have carried the Gordini name:

• Dauphine Gordini (1957–1967)
• Renault 8 Gordini (1964–1970)
• Renault 12 Gordini (1970–1974)
• Renault 17 Gordini (1974–1978)
• Renault 5 Gordini (1979-1985) - This was sold in the UK, but in other places, it was called the Renault 5 Alpine.
• Clio Gordini RS (2010–present)
• Twingo Gordini (2010–present)
• Twingo Gordini RS (2010–present)
• Wind Gordini (2011–2013)

Car Colours

Gordini cars are famous for their special colour scheme. Since the early Renault models, most Gordini cars have been painted bleu de France. This is a bright blue colour that is the traditional French motor racing colour. They usually have white stripes as well. Over the years, some other colour combinations have also been used.

See also

In Spanish: Gordini para niños