Chris Harris Goes Wild in Renault Sport R.S. 01 Racecar, Flies on Silverstone, Does Donuts

Sure, the name may be a little confusing, but who’s got time to talk about that when the car itself is brilliant? At least that’s what the journalist says after getting some seat time on Silverstone.

Harris recently took the car out on a “very cloudy Silverstone” and he seems to have enjoyed every moment of it. He explains that the downforce is simply in another league compared to GT3 cars, hence the massive G forces playing with the man’s body. To be more precise, at 300 km/h (186 mph), the R.S. 01 produces 1,700 kg (3,750 lbs) of downforce, as much as a Formula Renault 3.5 single seater.

And while the R.S. 01 may pack ABS, traction control and multiple throttle maps, don’t expect the handling to go anywhere near the easy-as-pie zone. Sure, this is a manageable beast, but you can still spin it if you expect the electronic nannies to do the work for you.

Then again, you’d expect that from a rear-wheel-drive carbon fiber machine that tips the scales at 1,150 kg (2,535 lbs) and is animated by a Nissan GT-R heart (for those who haven’t been following the Godzilla story, we’ll mention this can be translated as 550 hp). The engine is mated to a Sadev seven-speed paddle shifter and you’ll see Harris working those carbon paddles.

The Renault Sport R.S. 01 is currently available for private teams who want to compete in the World Series by Renault one-make racing series.

The price of the racecar? Well, since you had to ask, we’ll mention this sits at EUR383,000 or $435,000.