Heavenly 17 Restomod Adds to Renault’s Retro Future
Renault has partnered with French designer Ora Ïto to create a restomod based on the R17 of 1971.
Back in its heyday the Renault 17 was available as a four-seater coupe or convertible, powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder motor driving the front wheels, but in this re-imagination it makes the switch to electric power and rear drive. A 272-hp e-PT motor provides almost three times the punch of the original, while a generous helping of carbon fiber keeps the weight down to 3086 lbs.
Renault hasn’t revealed performance figures but it should comfortably out-sprint even the hottest Gordini version of the stylish Seventies coupe.
Ïto opted to stay fairly true to the original design, working in collaboration with Renault’s in-house designers. “With Sandeep (Bhambra) and Gilles (Vidal), we worked on a theme that was retro-futuristic, almost cinematic,” says Ïto. “I wanted to drape Renault 17 in a second skin, showcasing the design while giving it a more contemporary look in terms of flow, dynamics and rationality through my own approach to design and my own signature: simplexity. I wanted to simplify the more complex aspects.”
The restomod Renault is 6.7 inches wider than the donor car and sits lower on bigger, lightly-dished aero wheels. The lighting is updated with thin slit LED headlamps and a single rear light bar. The B pillar is gone, frameless doors are fitted, and louvres cover the rear quarter windows.
The cabin is re-trimmed in Merino wool and the console is reworked to incorporate a central screen, with four further digital displays making up the instrument panel.
The rebirth of the retro coupe as an EV follows similar showcars such as the Hyundai Pony and Opel Manta, but it also follows Renault’s own previous collaborations on the R4, R5 and Twingo. With a new 5 in showrooms soon we can but hope the 17 heralds a heavenly future for the Renault coupe as well.
They Retromodded the Gremlin? LOL!
The best French cars were built or designed by Italians. It has been a while.
Definitely some Grenlin, but I also see a resemblance to the Avanti.
From the front I had that same feeling but the profile reeked Gremlin.
I like it, I like it quite a lot. The minimalist approach is refreshing in the current sea of and a scoop and a crease and a reverse curve and a quack quack here and a quack quack there….ubiquitous designs we now see. A nice simple little hatchback that proves hatchbacks don’t meed to be boring. For the smaller streets of European towns it makes sense as well as the urban/suburban streets here in the states. I would like to see it in another color other than this almost ‘murdered out’ monochromatic charcoal grey to see how that holds up. (perhaps an orange with argent accents) out of curiosity. If this and others like it can be mass produced at a reasonable cost we may be looking at the near future of EVs. The daily driver to and from work car. Yes, you can still keep the SUV for the family including the dog for those weekend getaways.