Renault Celebrates 10 Years Since Its MPV Coupe the Avantime

Oh, the Renault Avantime; it was the car that killed Matra and proved to the world that no one wanted a coupe that looked like a minivan. But it is currently celebrating its tenth anniversary in the UK. 

The concept for the Avantime was first shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. The production version was shown a few months later at the Frankfurt Motor Show and London Motor Show. 

The Avantime was available with three engines a 2.0l turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with 163hp, a 3.0l petrol V6 with 207hp and a 2.2l diesel four-cylinder with 150hp. It has a novel one-box design with no B-pillars. It has several plastic body panels mounted to an aluminum passenger compartment. The doors swung into the body when opened to allow easier entry for rear passengers without forcing the door to have a wide opening. There was also a nearly full length sunroof inside. 

Sales of the Avantime were unsatisfying. It sold 8,552 of them between 2001 and 2003. It was built on the same platform as the Espace III, and when that car went out of production in 2003, Renault had no desire to keep building the Avantime. 

To celebrate the car going on sale in the UK, the Avantime Owners Club will meet up at the Transport Museum in Coventry on April 7 at 9am.