The 800-HP Renault Espace F1 Is Finally Returning to Gran Turismo

Which Gran Turismo game is your favorite? Personally, I go back and forth between GT2 and GT4. The latter probably has the edge because it was just so polished and, for that reason, is a bit easier to return to today than those jagged PS1 entries. But GT2 was so unusually massive for its time and so weird, with many cars that we haven’t seen in the franchise since, that it’s hard to overlook. One of those cars, the Renault Espace F1, has become a favorite request among longtime fans, and we now know it’s making a miraculous comeback in Gran Turismo 7.

Next month, GT7 will receive a comprehensive and frankly unexpected Spec III update, as it approaches its fourth birthday. It’ll bring eight new cars, including the Mine’s R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Mitsubishi FTO, and Polestar 5, as well as two new tracks—the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. We don’t know what all eight of those vehicles are yet, but during last weekend’s GT World Series esports event in Los Angeles, we learned that the Espace F1 would be among them.

The Espace F1, if you’re unfamiliar, was a concept that took Renault’s 3.5-liter, 800-horsepower V10 engine out of Williams’ 1993 FW15C Formula 1 car, and mounted it centrally in a beefed-up Espace minivan body. The French automaker built two with minor stylistic differences, though only one was ever running. Interestingly, the version used in GT2 years ago was the non-functional car, which you can tell apart by the silver intakes on its front bumper, turbofan wheels, and the additional lights on its rear wing.

In any case, the Espace F1 is a legend of oddball ’90s concepts, partially because of its very premise and partially because Renault’s manufacturing partner Matra actually built the thing to run. Its rear chassis was also lifted out of its Grand Prix-racing counterpart, as were its carbon-ceramic brakes. Thanks to a carbon fiber-reinforced body, it tipped the scales under 2,900 pounds, and since the V10 also developed 520 lb-ft of torque and revved to just shy of 14,000 rpm, it could scream to 60 mph from a standstill in 2.8 seconds. What’s not to love?

The Espace F1 appears about 30 seconds into a just-released GT7 trailer showcasing the new Abu Dhabi track. Frankly, I couldn’t care less that this circuit is coming to the game; I think it’s boring and horrendous to drive, and I’m much more enthusiastic about the addition of Montreal. In that context, seeing the Espace F1 emerge out of nowhere was a most welcome surprise.

We don’t have a release date for Spec III quite yet, but it shouldn’t be more than several weeks away. Who knows what other surprises Polphony has lurking for us before 2025 winds to a close?

Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com

The post The 800-HP Renault Espace F1 Is Finally Returning to Gran Turismo appeared first on The Drive.