The Gentleman Magazine Issue 15 | June 2019 | Page 35

The Williams-Renault FW14B design proved itself to be one
off the most dominant Grand Prix racing cars of all time. It
was also one of the most sophisticated and exquisitely complex
ever built. The FW14B was designed by Adrian Newey, widely
celebrated today as one of the most successful Formula 1
designers of all time.
In addition to its 3.5-litre V10-cylinder Renault RS3 racing
engine, car FW14B/08 features Williams Grand Prix
Engineering 6-speed semi-automatic transmission and
Williams GPE ride-levelling active suspension. In combination
with the car’s cutting-edge aerodynamic form, this recipe
produced a car which boasted top level on-circuit performance
in the 1992 field, in which it consistently out-performed the
very best that Ferrari, McLaren-Honda, Benetton, and Lotus
could pitch against it.
Having been painstakingly well-preserved, initially by Williams
Grand Prix Engineering and subsequently by a single private
owner, the Williams-Renault survives today in running order.
Both its V10-cylinder engine and the sophisticated hydraulic
active-suspension system have been exercised in recent weeks.
Mark Osborne, Global Director of Motorsport at Bonhams,
commented: "The FW14B was the high-water mark in Grand
Prix design for ‘92. It was so dominant that it trounced the
competition in ten of the sixteen rounds of the Championship,
with records tumbling along the way. As a young man, and
along with a nation, I was in patriotic awe of the brilliance of
the British Williams cars, and of Red 5 in particular. Chassis 8
was the focus of that adulation - the best of the breed - and in
Mansell's hands it took the first 5 rounds of the Championship.
The FW14B was then and remains today one of the most
sophisticated cars to compete in F1, and we at Bonhams are
honoured to have been entrusted with such a motor racing
legend."
The Gentleman Magazine | 35