Bold Renault Filante revealed as luxury flagship in £2bn global push

The Filante has been designed to tap into the local demand for big, luxurious SUVs. Measuring just under 5.0m long and 1.9m wide, it's larger than any of Renault's European models and close in terms of stature to the Genesis GV80, which will be among its closest rivals in its home market - and cars like the Lexus RX and BMW X5, which it will take on when it goes to the Middle East shortly afterwards. 

Cambolive said expanding into the premium segment is in line with Renault's plan to "upgrade" its global product mix: "We want to go into better, more valuable segments. What we want to do on the international market is what we achieved in Europe: increase significantly our revenue per unit."

Beneath its highly bespoke bodywork, with a design that's far removed from any of Renault's European models, the Filante is essentially an upsized version of the Grand Koleos that Renault already builds and sells in Korea, in partnership with Chinese manufacturer Geely. 

It therefore shares that car's Geely-derived CMA platform – as also used by the Volvo XC40 and Polestar 2 – and petrol-electric full-hybrid powertrain. 

Although the Filante's hybrid powertrain is badged 'E-Tech', in line with Renault's electrified European models, it's a Geely-engineered system that features in various states of tune across the Chinese manufacturer's portfolio - comprising a 1.5-litre petrol engine working with an integrated starter-generator, an electric motor and a small (1.6kWh) battery. 

It has been uprated slightly to give a combined 247bhp and 417lb ft of torque and tweaked for added refinement in line with the new model's more overt premium focus. 

Despite it being unrelated to any full-blooded Renault model, Cambolive is confident that the Filante can uphold the brand's values and challenge the market stalwarts on the basis of its competitive performance and refinement attributes.

"What is the recipe of our strategy on international markets? The first one for me, it's important to remember, is our capacity to put the Renault DNA on each car, based on the voiture à vivre [car for living] philosophy," he said. 

That emphasis on Renault's distinct attributes is reflected in the Filante's bold design, which is a stark departure from the Geely Xingyue L to which it's most closely related underneath. 

While notionally an SUV in shape and stature, the Filante has been designed with influence from saloon cars in a bid to stand out from its more upright rivals - with a sleek, rakish roofline and taut, aerodynamically optimised surfacing that is a "nod to a name associated with speed and motion". 

Design boss Laurens van den Acker explained to Autocar that while Renault has historically been unsuccessful in Europe's premium car market (the Safrane, Vel Satis and Avantime having failed to make a dent in the market shares of BMW and Mercedes), there is an opportunity in that sphere in Korea.

"It has always been tough in sedans for us in Europe, to be honest, because there's so much competition from the Germans and the English. In fact, the biggest markets for premium cars are Germany and the UK, and those are very German.

"We have nothing to lose there, so we can actually go all-out. What you see here in the design is quite exotic, but we are a very small brand in Korea, so we might as well give it a go."

To that end, the Filante, as well as being a different shape to any of Renault's European SUVs, has its own bespoke front end signature and distinctive "sculpted" rear end.