s, as raced, and retired, at the
1950 24 Hours of Le Mans by
José Froilán González and
Juan Manuel Fangio Amédée Gordini tuned cars and competed in motor races since the 1930s. His results prompted
Simca (the French assembler of Fiat) to hire him for its motorsport program and to develop road cars. Their association continued after
World War II. In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars bearing his name,
Fiat-engined
single-seaters raced by him and José Scaron, achieving several victories. In the late 1940s, the company opened a workshop at the Boulevard Victor in Paris, entering sports car and
Grand Prix races. Gordini and Simca started to diverge in 1951 because of political conflicts. Gordini-tuned Renault cars also won various rallies during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1963, the Gordini company planned to move its headquarters to Noisy-le-Roi. At the end of 1968, Amédée Gordini retired and sold a 70% majority stake from his firm to Renault. Renault-Gordini was moved to Viry-Châtillon in 1969 and became a sport division of Renault, before being merged with Alpine to form Renault Sport in 1976. The Gordini company name became wholly owned by Renault in 1977. Modern models to bear the name include the
Renault Twingo and the
Renault Clio. ==Models==