Gordini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gordini

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

Gordini is a special part of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). It used to be a company that made sports cars and made regular cars much faster. It was started in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979). People called him "Le Sorcier," which means "The Sorcerer," because he was so good at making engines powerful. Gordini became a division of Renault in 1968 and then part of Renault Sport in 1976.

History of Gordini

Early Days and Racing

Amédée Gordini was a very skilled engineer. He started making cars faster and racing them in the 1930s. His amazing results caught the eye of Simca, a French car company. Simca hired him to help with their racing cars and to make better cars for the road. They worked together even after World War II.

In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars with his own name on them. These were single-seater racing cars that used Fiat engines. Amédée Gordini himself and another driver named José Scaron raced these cars and won many times. In the late 1940s, the company opened a workshop in Paris. They started entering both sports car races and big Grand Prix races.

1937 Simca-Gordini Type 5 Le Mans

1939 Simca-Gordini Type 8

1946 Simca-Gordini 11

1950 Simca-Gordini T15s, raced at the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans

Formula One Adventures

Gordini competed in Formula One races from 1950 to 1956. This is the highest level of car racing in the world. Even though they didn't win a Formula One championship, they had a lot of success in Formula Two during that time.

Gordini Type 16

Simca-Gordini Type 21S

Joining Renault

After its Formula One racing program ended, Gordini started working with Renault. Gordini became an expert at making Renault engines more powerful. Renault-Gordini cars raced in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race between 1962 and 1969. Gordini also tuned engines for Alpine, another sports car maker that worked with Renault.

In 1957, Gordini and Renault created the Dauphine Gordini. This was a special, faster version of the Renault Dauphine car. It was very popular and sold many units. Gordini-tuned Renault cars also won many rallies (off-road races) in the 1950s and 1960s.

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

Renault 8 Gordini

Renault 12 Gordini

Gordini Today

Renault continued to use the Gordini name for special, high-performance versions of its cars. These included popular models like the Renault 5, the Renault 8, the Renault 12, and the Renault 17.

In November 2009, Renault announced that the Gordini name would return. It would be used for a special line of "hot hatch" cars. These are regular cars made much sportier and faster. Modern cars that have carried the Gordini name include the Renault Twingo and the Renault Clio.

Renault Twingo RS Gordini

Clio Gordini

Gordini Car Models

Here are some of the car models that Gordini helped make special:

• 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 as the Renault 5 Alpine in other countries.
• 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, they have often been bleu de France (a bright blue, which is the traditional French motor racing colour) with white stripes. Different colour combinations have been used over the years, but the blue and white is the most well-known.

See also

In Spanish: Gordini para niños