L'Atelier Renault Tops the 20-Million Visitor Mark

PARIS – March 20, 2009: L’Atelier Renault on the Champs-Elysées in Paris has attracted more than 20 million visitors since opening on November 8, 2000.

L’Atelier Renault is the place to go to see new model reveals, watch Formula 1 Grand Prix races live, have a drink or grab a bite to eat, buy clothes and accessories, collect info with a view to buying a car, or simply check out the premises. It is a place where the brand communicates directly with the public, a venue for exchange, discovery and pleasure.

L’Atelier Renault has a concept-store look with its suspended walkways and mezzanine overlooking the events area. Open every day from 10.30 am to 12.30 am, and until 2.30 am on Fridays and Saturdays, it organizes regular shows of brand products. The events-oriented approach of L’Atelier Renault has proved immensely successful, with some 27 exhibitions held since opening, including Renault by Doisneau in 2004, F1 Secrets in 2005, Hyper-sensorial in 2006 and Alpine Passion in 2008.

The “Atelier (Renault) de Père Noël” show set a record in 2004 with some 41,000 visitors in a single day. With a historic peak of 2.8 million visitors in 2006 following Renault's first double World Champion title in Formula 1, L’Atelier Renault established itself as the essential venue for motor racing enthusiasts.

Nearly 100 vehicles were shown to the public in 2008, including 15 concept cars, 13 vehicles from the Renault Collection of vintage vehicles, and 70 models from the Renault range. L'Atelier Renault kicked off 2009 with a leisure focus, holding the "A ciel ouvert" (or “Wind-in-the-hair motoring”) exhibition that retraces the history of top-down cars, from the 1920s DP Torpedo to the 1935 Viva Grand Sport and Grand Sport roadster, and the legendary 1959 Floride made famous by Brigitte Bardot, on show exclusively through March 29.