19 juin 2020
Past and present R.S. legends to star in new Netflix thriller
Two legendary cars – one past and one present – from the R.S. stable will take on starring roles in a new Netflix thriller set to hit TV screens later this month.
Balle Perdue (Lost Bullet), directed and written by Guillaume Pierret, tells the tale of top mechanic Lino (Alban Lenoir) who specialises in customising cars for ram-raiding robberies. When a heist goes wrong, Lino is scouted by the drug squad and offered a deal to avoid prison in exchange for his services.
Nine months later, after proving his worth to the team, his mentor is murdered and Lino falsely accused of firing the gun. The only way to prove his innocence ? Take part in a race against time to find the bullet from crime – which is lodged in a missing car.
As one might expect, the all-action 93-minute film, released on June 19, includes a series of high-octane stunts and top-speed car chases as it reaches its gripping climax – and two of the cars involved are R.S. legends.
First up is the all-new Mégane R.S. – now sportier than ever thanks to its wider wings with R.S. air intakes, custom bumper and F1® splitter. It’s a true sports car, developed on the track, with R.S. racing DNA in its genes.
The other is the all-time classic R21 2L Turbo – the super-charged version of the popular saloon that sold more than two million units worldwide between 1986 and 1994.
Released in September 1987, the R21 2L Turbo set about taking on other popular sports saloons such as the BMW 325i and the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, and soon made a significant splash thanks to its excellent aerodynamics and superior handling. The interior more than matched its powerful 1995cm3 119kW 162bhp engine too, thanks to new bucket seats, special upholstery, black dashboard, leather-wrapped steering wheel and onboard computer.
We don’t want to spoil any more of the Balle Perdue exciting plot but it’s safe to say both cars play a significant role in the future of the film’s hero, Lino. If you’d like to get a sneak peek at some of the action, take a look at the teaser-trailer for the movie here.
Balle Perdue is not the first time R.S. cars have had a starring role on screen – perhaps unsurprising given that Renault and the cinema were born within a few years of each other at the end of the 19th century and that the workshops of the car manufacturer and cinema pioneers the Lumière brothers were just a few streets apart in Boulogne-Billancourt.
The history of Renault and the cinema are so entwined that in 1899, just four years after the birth of cinema, Louis Renault was one of the first car manufacturers to appear on screen when he was captured behind the wheel of a Type A.
Renault cars’ subsequent appearances in film and TV are too many to list in full, but highlights include appearances in :
- Trafic, the 1971 Italian-French comedy directed by Jacques Tati that featured the 4L ;
- A View to A Kill, the 14th James Bond film with its dramatic car chase through the streets of Paris in a Renault 11 taxi ;
- Titanic, James Cameron’s 1997 smash that featured a 1910 CB model.
Aside from these and many other appearances on-screen, Renault has also been a long-standing sponsor of the legendary Cannes Film Festival and was an official partner of the 42nd American Cinema Festival in 2016.
This latest cinematic appearance just goes to show that, more than 220 years after a Renault was first captured on film, the brand is still a massive box office draw.
See the Balle Perdue teaser-trailer