As the all-electric Renault 5 E-Tech breaks cover at the 2024 Geneva Show today, we can share details from our private visit to Renault’s Technocentre design studio in early February, with head of design Gilles Vidal in charge of the show-and-tell
The good news is that – in the main, and especially at its front – the Renault 5 E-Tech has stayed refreshingly close to the 5 Prototype unveiled in January 2021.
The 5 Prototype design won instant and widespread public praise from old 5 fans and more, cleverly sampling various elements from multiple generations of the Renault 5, including the 1972 Mk1’s gently smiling front eyes, the 1984 Supercinq’s vertical rear lights and the Turbo’s wide shoulders. Former bonnet vents morphed into notional charging flaps and graphic flourishes echoed 1970s and 80s detailing. The prototype struck a chord with fellow car designers too, scooping up the most votes – and by some margin – to win CDN’s Concept Car Design of the Year award.
The Renault 5 E-Tech keeps the Prototype’s chunky proportions and…
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