Following this all-French victory in the premier French motorsport event, Renault withdrew from sports car racing to concentrate their efforts in Formula One.

However, unlike the previous cars, the A442's 2.0L Renault-Gordini powerplant boasted a large Garrett turbocharger, pushing power output to 490 bhp (365 kW).

In common with the earlier cars, the engine was suspended inside a relatively small steel spaceframe chassis, which was then clothed in a much longer fibreglass body.

The extra length of the body was mostly to be found in the tail section, to improve high-speed aerodynamic efficiency, and hence top speed on the long Mulsanne straight at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Following wind tunnel testing during the autumn and winter of 1977, the A442B and A443 were introduced in 1978 each sporting an acrylic glass "bubble" partial roof, resulting in an additional 8 km/h (5 mph) in top speed at la Sarthe, but reducing visibility from the driving seat.

However, during practice for the 1978 Le Mans race, A443 drivers Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille complained that the bubble made them feel claustrophobic and trapped engine heat inside the cockpit, making driving conditions intolerable.

The A442 made its competition debut in March 1975, at the Mugello 1000 km, with Jabouille and Larrousse, although other sources report the car to be an A441 with the new turbo engine.

[3] Despite the relatively underdeveloped turbo addition to the Renault engine, the car lasted long enough for the team to take a surprise win in its very first race.

For the 1977 race the Renault Sport works team fielded three cars, drafted in endurance specialist Derek Bell, and were supported by an additional, privately entered A442.

The work carried out since the 1977 race meant that, for once, Renault was on a par with the dominant Porsche 936 turbo cars, which had been improved, and the two manufacturers shared the first four rows of the grid equally.