In 1977, Renault introduced the world of Formula One to the dark art of turbocharging. However, their debut was hampered by copious reliability issues, including a great number of engine and turbo failures. After being laughed off by the establishment for racing a "Yellow Teapot", Renault kept developing the RS01 and its single turbo Gordini EF1 1.5L V6.

The Renault RS01 broke new ground in 1977. The Renault RS01 broke new ground in 1977.

The succeeding twin-turbo RS10 finally took a win at the 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois driven by driver/engineer Jean Pierre Jabouille, ringing the death knell for the venerable Cosworth DFV V8. Renault's example was soon followed by major manufacturers like Ferrari, BMW, Honda, Porsche and Ford, as well as smaller firms like Hart, Zakspeed and Motori Moderni.

Though Renault had been the pioneer of turbocharged engines, it never managed to convert this head start into an actual title success. Reliability issues continued to plague the team, resulting in a lot of disappointment despite generally good pace.

Renault came agonizingly close to a title with Alain Prost in 1983. Renault came agonizingly close to a title with Alain Prost in 1983.

In 1983, Alain Prost missed out on top honors by after suffering turbo failure in the last race of the season at Kyalami, having to cede the title to Brabham's Nelson Piquet by two points. As a result, BMW gained the honor of becoming the first manufacturer to win an F1 World Championship with a turbocharged engine.

Renault held on for two more seasons with increasingly mixed results, as McLaren and their new TAG-Porsche P01 V6 started to gain a hold on the series with back to back titles in 1984 and 1985.

The RE60 finally killed off Equipe Renault Elf. The RE60 finally killed off Equipe Renault Elf.

The team's last car, the unruly RE60, proved to be a devastating 3.5 seconds slower than its predecessor, giving the team's management all the more reason to cancel the project. After eight years in F1, Renault dissolved its factory effort and assumed a position as engine supplier.

1970 AGS JH5 Formula Renault. 1970 AGS JH5 Formula Renault.

At around the same time as Renault's demise, a much smaller French outfit was busy finding its way to the top. Automobiles Gonfaronnaisses Sportives had been founded by gas station owner and amateur racer Henri Julien in 1969, and focused on the construction of single seaters for lower formulae like Formula Renault, Formula Three, Formula Two and Formula 3000.

Philippe Streiff and his AGS JH20 F3000, 1985. Philippe Streiff and his AGS JH20 F3000, 1985.

After finishing eight in the championship with Philippe Streiff in the inaugural season of Formula 3000, Henri Julien though it time to break into the big leagues and build his very own F1 car.

Julien had been badgering Renault for technical support since 1981, thinking the French giant would be willing to support a satellite team. His requests had been rebuffed time and time again, but with the factory team folded, Renault finally allowed him to raid their parts bin.

The AGS was based around the Renault RE40 tub. The AGS was based around the Renault RE40 tub.

Among the loot were several RE40 carbon fiber chassis tubs, suspension assemblies, brakes and other miscellaneous parts. Julien returned to his Garage de L'Avenir gas station/workshop, and gave batch of parts to his team, some seven men strong. Christian Vanderpleyn and Michel Costa then proceeded to build a car around the old chassis using both Renault and AGS F3000 components, adapting them where necessary.

The Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 stood in for Renault's V6. The Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 stood in for Renault's V6.

However, Henri Julien was unable to secure a supply of Renault turbo engines, as the firm was still planning to supply them to Lotus, Ligier and Tyrrell for 1986. With naturally aspirated engines being banned outright for the season, he would have to find a way to secure a powerplant from a different manufacturer.

Eventually he was able to find a heavily used Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5L twin turbo V6, formerly used by the then debuting Minardi team in 1985. The motor was a product of former Alfa Romeo engine guru Carlo Chiti in an exclusive deal with Giancarlo Minardi. The AGS would be the first and ultimately only customer car to use the engine.

The Motori Moderni unit was then bolted to the re-purposed Renault chassis, and mated to a 6-speed manual transmission and rear suspension taken directly from the Renault RE60. The car was then fitted by bulky, roughly finished bodywork, giving the car an amateurish appearance.

Indeed, the mishmash of old Renault and new AGS F3000 parts wasn't the most sophisticated, as the car weighed in at a hefty 560 kg (1230 lbs), some 55 more than the minimum weight limit. The JH21C was finished in a sober white livery with red lettering, displaying the colors of title sponsor El Charro, a Mexican clothing company.

Mere weeks before the car was set to debut, the AGS found itself in the hands of a veritable Formula One legend. Four years after the sickening accident at Hockenheim that broke both his legs beyond recognition, former Ferrari driver Didier Pironi gave the car its first test at Paul Ricard.

Didier Pironi tried out the AGS at Paul Ricard. Didier Pironi tried out the AGS at Paul Ricard.

The three time Grand Prix winner had only recently regained the ability to walk without assistance, but he rounded out the test day without incident. However, Pironi didn't take the test as a serious opportunity to return to the sport, instead treating it as a one-off experience. As a result, AGS didn't pursue securing his driving talents any further.

Pironi would never get back into the AGS after the test. Pironi would never get back into the AGS after the test.

With Didier Pironi out of the picture, Henri Julien hired 1984 European Formula Three Champion Ivan Capelli, who had previously contested two Grands Prix with Tyrrell in 1985. The Italian was seen as one of the future talents of the sport, but despite finishing fourth at the Australian Grand Prix, he wasn't immediately picked up by a major team for 1986.

AGS finally showed up for the 13th round of the 1986 season, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Ivan Capelli managed to qualify the car 25th out of 27 cars in his first home Grand Prix with a 1:33.844, some 9.766 seconds slower than Teo Fabi's Brabham BT55 BMW.

However, Capelli had beaten out countrymen Alex Caffi and an Piercarlo Ghinzani, both driving for the similarly low budget Osella team. Normally Caffi would have failed to qualify, but the FIA allowed for all 27 cars to start

Ivan Capelli had to retire with a puncture, Monza 1986. Ivan Capelli had to retire with a puncture, Monza 1986.

Monza wasn't the best venue for the overweight, underpowered AGS, as its Motori Moderni unit produced just 720 horsepower, up to 280 horsepower less than the most powerful cars even in race trim.

Moreover, the engine was rather tired from its time at Minardi, making it likely even weaker. Ivan Capelli ran reasonably well however, but had to park up his car after a violent left rear puncture on lap 31.

The following race at Portugal's Estoril circuit saw Capelli qualify 25th once again, with a time 7.314 seconds down on Ayrton Senna's Lotus 98T. Only Huub Rothengatter of Zakspeed and Allen Berg in his Osella were slower.

Though the tight, twisty track masked the car's lack of power, its heavy chassis still prevented it from climbing up the order. Ivan Capelli didn't get the chance to run the car for very long either, as the transmission broke after just six laps.

The JH21C would become the Cosworth-engined JH22 for 1987. The JH21C would become the Cosworth-engined JH22 for 1987.

Unable and unwilling to pay for the trip to the final two rounds of the championship in Mexico and Australia, AGS decided forego finishing the season. Instead, the team turned its attention gathering budget for its first full season.

To facilitate this, Christian Vanderpleyn began to modify the JH21C to accept the new Cosworth DFZ 3.5L naturally aspirated V8, as the FIA had announced the progressive phasing out of turbo engines from 1987 onward.

In 2005, a chassis going by the previously unknown JH21D designation was put on display in the De Manoir L'Automobile's F1 exhibit in Loheac, France. This turned out to be the original AGS, which had been rebuilt to JH21C spec after serving as the first JH22 in 1987. Fittingly, it sits alongside a Renault RE60, finally bringing the two cousins together after nearly thirty years.