- Renault announces new exhibition centre outside Paris in Flins, which will house hundreds of historic vehicles, plus art works and archive documents
- Project will highlight the brand’s 125 years of history and is due to open in 2027
- Centre will feature a 2,800 m2 events space, with hundreds of vehicles mounted on racks. The building also includes a vehicle restoration workshop and storage areas for parts and equipment
Renault is grouping its exceptional collection of historic vehicles, art works and archive documents in a new exhibition centre outside Paris in Flins, set to open in 2027. The public will be able to explore the brand’s unique heritage through tours and themed exhibitions. This ambitious project will showcase the brand’s 125 years of history while highlighting its impact on automotive innovation and our collective memory.
“I believe that a brand draws its strength first and foremost from its roots. Our industrial and cultural heritage is based on 125 years of history and is still incredibly relevant today. It inspires our workforce every day in their efforts to imagine the future of mobility. And you could say that it belongs to everyone, since Renault is also part of a universal popular culture. This is why we wanted to share our heritage widely, through a dynamic, open experience accessible to everybody. The new site is a family venue, where you can stroll around the cars, and reconnect with a history that is not static but constantly evolving: a heritage that makes us proud and that we want to convey to the full.”
Fabrice Cambolive, CEO Renault Brand
A UNIQUE HERITAGE PROJECT
Immerse yourself in Renault’s automotive history
Renault is announcing a unique heritage project, designed to bring its rich industrial and cultural heritage to the greatest number. From 2027, members of the public will be able to immerse themselves in the Group’s history. The project is a chance to (re)discover iconic models, each with their own story to tell: a story not only of technical innovation, but also of social transformation. And because cars contribute to shaping cities, lifestyles, art and culture, they are also a direct witness to everyday life. For visitors, the new venue will bring back personal memories associated with specific brand cars or commercials that marked their time, as well as giving them an opportunity to admire exceptional works of art from the Renault Fund. This future venue will pass on the history of Renault, bringing it to life through experiences, interactions, special events and technology. For example, it will tell the story of the brand through an immersive odyssey based on virtual reality. Visitors will experience the adventure of Renault, a brand whose history is closely tied to the history of France. A unique immersive experience.
Flins, an obvious choice
For this new venue, Renault has chosen the Flins site, just 40 kilometres from Paris. Opened in 1952, this iconic site built over 18 million vehicles. It stands as witness to a unique industrial adventure, where the memory of millions of vehicles meets the ambitions of a more sustainable type of mobility.
Home to iconic models such as the Dauphine in the 50s, Renault 5 in the 70s and 80s, Renault 4, four generations of Clio and ZOE, Flins has reinvented itself. In 2021, it became the Refactory, a pioneering site dedicated to the circular economy of mobility.
A gateway between past and future, between the city and the industrial site
Located in front of the industrial plant, on the outskirts of Flins and Elisabethville, this new venue will be a gateway between the towns and the world of Renault, continuing a story that began over 70 years ago. It will be a link between the towns and the industrial site. Designed by architect Jacob Celnikier from the agency CGA, the planned structure is a harmonious fit with the orthogonal lines of the original plant designed by Bernard Zehrfuss, winner of the Rome Prize in 1939. In contrast to the marked horizontal lines of the plant, the new venue has strong vertical lines. The building resembles a staircase with six interpenetrating parallelepipeds, gradually increasing in size like Russian dolls. As a result, the façade has multiple apertures on every level, allowing onlookers to glimpse the full extent of the collection in the background. This façade is open and welcoming in contrast to the large opaque volumes of the factory in the background.
A living venue dedicated to Renault’s heritage, the centre will feature a 2,800 m2 events space surrounded by areas for work, consultation and storage. The most spectacular area houses the Collection, with hundreds of vehicles mounted on racks. Seemingly sitting on giant shelves, the cars form a wall that can be seen not only from the event space, but also from the outside through the apertures in the facade.
The events space takes the form of a large hall, with a ceiling rising in tiers, from the entrance up to the gigantic showcase of cars on racks. The building also includes a vehicle restoration workshop and storage areas for parts and equipment.
“For the first time, Renault is opening the doors to its heritage, celebrating over 125 years of innovation, design and automotive passion with this unique, vibrant venue open to all. The visitor experience is simply breathtaking: thousands of objects, hundreds of works of art and, above all, a truly unique display of iconic cars lined up on pallets, like jewels suspended in space. A spectacular showcase that is worthy of the incredible history we wish to share.”
Arnaud Belloni, Chief Branding Officer, Renault
A UNIQUE COLLECTION BEARING WITNESS TO HISTORY
Archives and objects that bear witness to 125 years of automotive history
Renault’s heritage is not limited solely to its vehicles. The company also owns a large number of objects telling the story of the brand since 1898. With over 2,400 linear metres of archives, Renault has an impressive collection of documents and objects tracing the company’s history. Among the thousands of documents and objects in the collection are posters, design drawings, miniatures and toys, pedal cars, cups and medals, and books making up the bibliography of Renault. The new venue will allow the public to discover the full wealth of these archives. Their role is invaluable in understanding the history of the brand and its creations.
Hundreds of historic vehicles in the spotlight
The project will also give the general public access to an automotive treasure trove, comprising several hundred vehicles in perfect condition. Carefully conserved and restored, these vehicles span the history of Renault from the first car built by Louis Renault in 1898, the Type A, to pre-war models, Formula 1 cars, iconic Alpines and visionary concept cars.
Remarkably, more than half of the cars are still running, a testament to their careful conservation. For many years, it has been the work of six qualified technicians to restore and service all the vehicles in the Renault Collection, making sure that each model can take to the road to tell its own unique story. Building on this recognised expertise, the new venue will also house a restoration workshop for both powertrains and bodywork.
The diversity of the collection bears witnesses to Renault’s rich heritage. A number of iconic – sometimes rare – objects tell the story of automotive technology and design over the years. Other objects, popular successes of the past, will bring back personal memories and emotions. Who among us doesn’t have a visual or sensory memory linked to a trip to the countryside in an R4 or a holiday in an R16?
This living collection will continue to grow over time, although some changes will be made, primarily through the sale of duplicate models. To this end, an auction will be organised by Artcurial on 6 and 7 December.
A unique art collection
Renault also owns several hundred works of art, which will also be on display. Since the 1930s, Renault has been a pioneer in supporting contemporary design. This unique art collection was set up to build bridges between art and industry. Further underlining this aim, the Group announced the creation in June 2024 of the Renault Fund for Art and Culture. The role of the fund is to secure and protect the existing collection, while also seeking to renew it with contemporary artists, thus confirming the brand’s role as a patron of the arts and a cultural player. The purpose of the Fund is to protect brand heritage while supporting the emerging artists of today, with a particular focus on street art, with its close ties to the world of Renault products.
The Renault Fund for Art and Culture: a bridge between the automotive industry and artistic creation
The Fund’s historic collection includes several hundred iconic works, including photographs by Robert Doisneau – who maintained close ties with Renault throughout his career – a 1967 creation by Arman based on the Renault 4, a series by Erró dedicated to the Renault 5, creations by Victor Vasarely and Art Brut-inspired works by Jean Dubuffet.
This collection reflects the support provided by Renault to a number of artistic movements in the past, including:
- Humanist photography, particularly by Robert Doisneau, a full-time employee of the company between 1934 and 1939
- New Realism, founded in 1960, a movement whose followers included Arman and Jean Tinguely, sculptors who used everyday materials in their works
- Narrative Figuration, represented mainly by Erró, whose works mix images from pop culture and the history of art
- Op Art, a branch of geometric abstraction producing an illusion of vibration or movement, represented primarily by Victor Vasarely, who redesigned Renault’s logo in 1972
- Jean Dubuffet, painter, sculptor, and inventor of Art Brut: spontaneous and inventive creation by self-taught artists and outsiders
Today, the Fund also supports contemporary urban art, with works such as Bourgeon and Accrescent by Dan Rawlings, made from a historic Renault 5 and a new Renault 5 E-Tech electric, and Heritage by César Malfi, created at the Refactory in Flins in 2024, using a side panel from a Scenic E-Tech electric.
The public will have regular opportunities to discover or rediscover these powerful works, symbolising the dialogue between past and future, art and industry.
“Street art is a contemporary response to Renault’s original artistic ambitions, and its support for pop art and kinetic art in the 1960s. The Street Art movement brings art to the streets, making it available to everyone. In this way too, it echoes the purpose of a vehicle manufacturer, whose production also ‘lives’ on the street. The link between our “popular” values and street art is important.”
Catherine Gros, VP, Art, Patrimoine et mécénat
The Art Factory, an artistic residency in Flins
The Flins site recently became home to an artistic residency called the Art Factory, housed in the former paint shops. Today, this 3,200 m² space is dedicated to the creation and display of urban art, offering artists an opportunity to work in an environment that reproduces the atmosphere of the street. They have access to the industrial features still present around the site, and which they can use, divert or recycle in their work.
The selection of artists for future residencies will be based on criteria set out in collaboration with the exhibition curators, Jean Faucheur and Gaël Lefeuvre. Several residencies will be organised each year over a period of around three years. A work created by Gérard Zlotykamien from a 1937 Renault bus, named Ready-made 1935-2025, 7 tonnes 5, is the anchor of this extraordinary creative space. Guest artists include Jean Faucheur, who is already in residency to design a work in the Art Factory.
The residencies will provide a short-term immersive working environment, allowing artists to express their creativity in a unique industrial setting. Some of the works produced will become part of the exhibitions and collections in the new space dedicated to Renault’s heritage and innovations.