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Renault Celebrates 100 Hundred Years on The Champs Elysees


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Exterior view of the Magasin Renault des Champs-Elysées at the famous avenue's N°51, the day before it opened. In 1910, cars still shared the Parisian streets with horse-drawn carriages, cyclists and pedestrians. Louis Renault was still merely leasing the space.

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Inside of the Magasin Renault des Champs-Elysées on the day it opened in 1910. The full range of models is on show, including the Type CG 40CV.

BOULOGNE, France - September 10, 2010: Renault was the first automaker to open premises on the Avenue des Champs Élysées in Paris in 1910. This year it is celebrating the centenary of its arrival on one of the world's most famous thoroughfares. From the first showroom, opened at the beginning of the last century, through the Pub Renault to L’Atelier Renault, the history of France's leading automotive brand is intertwined with that of the Champs Élysées itself. An exhibition covering a century of automotive dreams and adventures will be open to the public from September 11 to November 14, 2010 at L’Atelier Renault. After 10 years and nearly 25 million visitors, L’Atelier Renault will close for six months in January 2011 for refurbishment.

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A bird's view of the showroom's interior in 1934. The models are no longer aligned but randomly dispersed on the same black and white chequered floor.

1910-1959: RENAULT IS THE FIRST AUTOMAKER ON THE CHAMPS ELYSEES
Renault was the first automaker to open for business on the Champs Élysées. A visionary pioneer, the company opened the first-ever automotive showroom on the avenue, just a stone's throw away from the Grand Palais exhibition center, home to the Paris Motor Show since 1901. The first stage of the site's creation began on May 23, 1910.

Magasin Renault on the Champs Élysées was a symbol of the brand's prestige, playing host to dignitaries, businessmen, industrialists and artists. It also attracted many foreigners, who took advantage of a trip to Paris not only to visit the store but also to order a Renault that would be shipped back home. Thanks to its location and prestige, Magasin Renault became a strategic venue.

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To mark the launch of the Renault 8 Gordini in October 1965, the Pub Renault welcomed swimming champion Christine Caron.

1962-1999: PUB RENAULT: A LEGENDARY INSTITUTION
Half a century after it first opened the Champs Élysées store, Renault was casting around for a new concept that would be as ground-breaking at the 1910 initiative. It wanted to create a space devoted entirely to the Renault brand.

The Pub Renault opened its doors on October 3, 1962 to coincide with the start of the motor show, which by then had moved to the Porte de Versailles exhibition center on the southern periphery of Paris.

Visitors soon discovered that the new venue, where a number of cars were on display, was a great place to meet. With its bar and restaurant, the Pub Renault attracted a lively crowd on a daily basis, whatever the hour. But the main highlight was the automotive-themed decor, full of PRESS RELEASE cozy booths styled on the cabins of classic cars, with replica seats, upholstery, woodwork and brass fittings. The store-as-an-experience was born.

2000: L’ATELIER RENAULT: THE PIT STOP OF CHOICE ON THE CHAMPS ELYSEES
L’Atelier Renault opened on November 13, 2000, more than 30 years after the Pub Renault. The change was part of the new brand image, expressed in the baseline "Renault, Créateur d’automobiles.

The aim of the new venue was to epitomize Renault's openness to the world in all its diversity. The light-filled, spacious interior is organized around ethereal, seemingly weightless structures. With an average of 2.5 million visitors a year, three times more than the Pub Renault, L’Atelier Renault regularly sets records for footfall, sometimes attracting up to 20,000 people in a single day! In the past decade nearly 50 exhibitions have been organized, with a hundred or so vehicles on display each year.

The keynote shows include: - the Christmas exhibitions: "Renault's Santa Claus Workshop" in 2004, "My Renault Toys" in 2006, "Renault the Wizard's Workshop" in 2007, and "Blue Christmas" (Gordini) in 2009 - exhibitions featuring Formula 1 racing and motorsports: "The Saga" in 2004, "F1 Secrets" in 2005, "Renault F1 Story" in 2006, "Xperience" in 2007, "Passion Sport" in 2008, "Sport by Renault" in 2009 - artistic and cultural exhibitions ("Vasarely" in 2003, "Renault by Doisneau" in 2004, "Bring On the Ads!" in 2005, "Scénic’Art" in 2006), - exhibitions related to specific aspects of the automobile: "Safety for All" in 2004, "Are You Sitting Comfortably?" in 2005, "HyperSensoriel" in 2006. L'Atelier Renault also hosts major events such as the gala evening held in 2008 to celebrate the 25-year partnership with the Cannes Film Festival, and the ZE Soirée in 2009, an evening devoted to the all-electric vehicle range.