The Renault 4ever concept revealed at the Paris motor show previews the brand's second retro-inspired electric car, following the earlier Renault 5.
After the unveiling, we caught up with Renault Group design executive vice president Laurens van den Acker, who detailed the process of reinventing a classic, the design opportunities afforded by electrification and the future of Alpine and Dacia styling.
After reviving the 5, how was it doing the same for the 4?
"After the 5, we couldn’t not talk about the 4… We have a chance to reinvent our icons like this with the energy transition. They’ve become relevant again. So many memories contribute to them. For many it was their first car to drive, their holiday car, where they had their first kiss. When cars all go EV, they risk becoming banal, but these cars help answer that."
How closely does this concept preview the 4?
"I love concept cars and have done my share of dream cars, but this is not the style of Luca [de Meo, Renault Group boss]. We make a promise and keep to it. With the 5, what you see is what you get. With the 4, it’s still two years away, but the upper half is still essentially very close – the lights, the cabin."
Was the 4 an easy car to reinvent?
"With the 5, it was relatively painless. It just came out the pens of our designers. The 4 was more laborious. It [the original] was not a pretty car! People didn’t buy it for beauty. It took more effort."
Could you have reinvented the 4 and 5 previously as petrol cars?
"I don’t think we could have done them as ICE cars. You’d have needed a big front overhang, the wheels couldn’t be as big, the turning circle would be impacted. Due to EVs, we can now reinvent icons."
Are you realising the opportunities of electric cars now in design?
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The Renault 4ever Concept looks bloody awful! If that is where electrification inspired styling taking the market, think I'll pass.
They do talk nonsense, don't they? Everything has to be an icon or iconic, when they really mean an old model that they abandoned, having become obsolete and unpopular and which was succeeded by something else, in the example in question, the Renault 6, no doubt another icon.
The 16 could perhaps be regarded as an icon, being one of the first hatchbacks and having a very distinctive design. It was a very good car that was never directly replaced. I'm hoping that when Renault mentions other possible revivals, this will be one.