The series grew out of the Spanish Formula Renault Championship, which had run from 1991 to 1997. Launched in 1998 as Open Fortuna by Nissan and initially known informally as "Formula Nissan," the championship was based predominantly in Spain but made incursions into France, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. In its early years it used Coloni chassis powered by a 2.0 L Nissan SR20 engine producing 250 bhp, slotting between Formula Three and Formula 3000 in the European single-seater hierarchy.
In 2002 the series adopted Dallara chassis and upgraded to the Nissan VQ30 V6 engine, simultaneously expanding its international footprint. Fernando Alonso won the championship in 1999 — then titled Euro Open MoviStar by Nissan — a result that helped propel him to Formula One. Marc Gené won the inaugural 1998 edition, Ricardo Zonta took the 2002 title, and Heikki Kovalainen claimed the crown in 2004.
In 2005 Renault Sport absorbed the World Series by Nissan and merged it with its own Formula Renault V6 Eurocup to create the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, the top tier of the new World Series by Renault package. The Dallara chassis was retained and the Renault V6 was uprated to 425 PS. The Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Eurocup Mégane Trophy joined as support categories, making World Series by Renault weekends a substantial event across multiple championships.
From 2008 onward the spec car was the Dallara T08, powered by a 3.5 litre Nissan VQ35 V6 producing 480 bhp with an 8,500 rpm rev limit and a six-speed semi-automatic Ricardo gearbox. A significant technical revision in 2012 introduced the Dallara T12 chassis and a new 3.4 litre Zytek V8 engine producing 530 bhp at 9,250 rpm, reducing total car weight by 15 kg versus its predecessor. A Drag Reduction System comparable to that used in Formula One was also adopted for 2012.
This era yielded an extraordinary roll of champions. Robert Kubica won in 2005. Álvaro Parente took 2007, Giedo van der Garde 2008, Mikhail Aleshin 2010, Robert Wickens 2011, Robin Frijns 2012, Kevin Magnussen 2013, Carlos Sainz Jr. 2014, and Oliver Rowland 2015. Daniel Ricciardo was Rookie of the Year in 2010 and went on to win Grands Prix in Formula One.
Renault Sport announced its withdrawal from the series in July 2015, handing full control back to RPM. The championship was rebranded Formula V8 3.5 for 2016, then World Series Formula V8 3.5 in December 2016. Tom Dillmann won the 2016 title with Arden Motorsport, and Pietro Fittipaldi claimed the final drivers' championship in 2017 with the Charouz-run Lotus entry. In November 2017 the organisers confirmed the series would not continue into 2018 due to insufficient entries, bringing to an end a twenty-year lineage that had launched careers including those of Alonso, Kubica, Ricciardo, Magnussen, and Sainz.
The Dallara T12, used from 2012 to the series' end, was powered by the Zytek-developed 3.4 litre V8 producing 530 bhp at 9,250 rpm. Total car weight was 600 kg dry. The gearbox was a six-speed semi-automatic with paddle-shift steering wheel controls, and Michelin supplied tyres throughout the Renault Sport era.
The series occupied the rung directly below Formula One in European single-seater racing for over a decade and is widely regarded as one of the most effective Formula One preparation championships of its era. The breadth and quality of its graduate list — spanning multiple Formula One world champions and race winners — remains its defining characteristic.
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