Renault is planning to open a heritage museum in 2027, on the site of its former Flins Factory west of Paris, and earlier this week Artcurial auctioned off a selection of 100 Renaults, the first step in streamlining the current collection to retain one example of each of its most important models produced since 1898. Some impressive—and some downright weird—cars left the building. Among the more compelling were several race cars, both static displays and runners, that eclipsed their high estimates. One of those runners, and the auction’s top sale, was the 1997 FW19 seen here, which brought €1,312,400 ($1,526,977).
Williams built seven FW19s for the 1997 season. This car, chassis number 03, took part in one race, when Villeneuve’s teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen drove it to a ninth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Largely, it served as a tester and backup machine: Both Villeneuve and Frentzen used it in February 1997 during preseason shakedowns, and it was also the champ’s spare in Australia, Monaco, Germany, Japan, and Jerez. Following the ’97 season, Juan Pablo Montoya used it for winter testing.
The catalog states that since its 1998 acquisition by Renault, the FW19 has been carefully preserved, with all running gear, wiring, and suspension intact. It carries engine number 1259, which largely spent time in the back of chassis 06 and was primarily used for testing throughout the season.