1999 - Espera Pontarlier

Proteus - 1999

In 1998, Sbarro and his students, in collaboration with Renault, presented the Espider, a Renault Espace designed to offer track baptisms during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A year later, this time at the request of an insurance company, MMA, Espera took the concept a step further with Proteus, a parade vehicle built for the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours on the basis of a Renault Espace 2.2 l 140 hp.

Proteus or the metamorphosis of a Renault Espace into a parade vehicle for the 1999 Le Mans 24-hour race.

Metamorphosis

In Greek mythology, Proteus is a god with the power to metamorphose. The Proteus prototype is a complete metamorphosis of a Renault Espace into a roadster. Unlike the Espider, where Renault demanded that the original vehicle be recognizable, the Espera students were able to do away with this constraint. The client is no longer Renault, but MMA, an insurance company. As a result, the front end is unrecognizable. Intended for track use only, the Proteus has neither headlights nor taillights. The Proteus seats six in bucket seats and features no windscreen and a central rollbar that runs from the front to the rear.
No headlights, no taillights, no roof, widened fenders: the transformation work is considerable.

Forgotten

Among the parade vehicles built by Sbarro. The Espider is undoubtedly the best known, as it was a project supported by Renault and Matra that received a great deal of media coverage. The Proteus, though more advanced, is not remembered, which is a little unfair.

In brief
1- Parade vehicle built for the 1999 Le Mans 24-hour race
2- Based on a Renault Espace
3- Six seats for circuit baptisms
  • Renault Espace in-line four-cylinder engine
  • Displacement: 2000 cm3
  • 140 horsepower
  • Weight: approx. 1400 kg