Renault is gathering its collection of historic vehicles, artworks, and archival documents in a new exhibition center outside Paris, at the landmark Flins site, 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 aims to showcase the brand’s 125-year history while highlighting its impact on automotive innovation and our collective memory.
Industrial and cultural heritage
Renault is announcing a unique heritage project, designed to bring its rich industrial and cultural heritage to the greatest number of people. 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.
For visitors, the new venue will evoke personal memories associated with specific brand cars or commercials that marked their time, as well as providing an opportunity to admire exceptional works of art from the Renault Fund.
This future venue will preserve the history of Renault, telling 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 deeply intertwined with that of France.
“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,” says Fabrice Cambolive, CEO of the Renault brand. “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 and open experience accessible to everyone. 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,” he adds.
Flins, of course
For this new venue, Renault has chosen the Flins site, just 40 kilometers from Paris. Opened in 1952, this iconic site has built over 18 million vehicles. It stands as a 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 fifties, Renault 5 in the seventies and eighties, Renault 4, four generations of Clio, and Zoe, Flins has reinvented itself. In 2021, it became the ‘Refactory’, a site dedicated to the circular economy of mobility.
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.
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.
The center 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.
Vehicles, archives, and objects
Renault’s heritage extends beyond its vehicles alone. The company also owns an extensive collection of objects that tell the story of the brand since its founding in 1898. With over 2,400 linear meters of archives, Renault boasts an impressive collection of documents and objects that trace the company’s history.
The project will also provide the general public with access to an automotive treasure trove, comprising several hundred vehicles in pristine condition. More than half of the cars remain operational, a testament to their meticulous maintenance and preservation.
For many years, a team of six qualified technicians has been responsible for restoring and servicing all the vehicles in the Renault Collection, ensuring that each model can take to the road to tell its own unique story.
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, Artcurial will organize an auction on 6 and 7 December.
Art included
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 established to bridge the gap 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 expand it with contemporary artists, thus affirming the brand’s status as a patron of the arts and a cultural player.
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.
