Renault Initiale Paris Completes Acker's Six Concept Life Cycle

Renault’sRenaultFrance, 1898 > present189 models
6052 photos
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latest concept from chief designer Laurens van den Acker is the Initiale ParisRenault Initiale ParisFrance, 2014 > 2014. It is his sixth concept in a cycle that is meant to show the future of Renault design. Van den Acker says that the Intiale Paris previews the next generation Espace and shows the company’s desire to move more into the premium car segment.

The Initiale Paris is meant to show the “Wisdom” in Renault design according to van den Acker. It is meant to be a car that people can travel in comfortably in high class. It is meant to express the vitality of a sedan in its grill and muscular shoulders, the character of an SUV with its fenders and 22in wheels and the roominess of a minivan with its high roof.

The Initiale Paris looks almost production ready with a wide grill that goes directly to the headlights. It has large side windows to make it airy, and the glass goes all the way from the front to the rear. The shape of the rear glass is supposed to look like an aircraft tail fin. A trim element is repeating diamond shapes inside and outside. When repeated, it looks like a beehive. The same motif is repeated on portions of the interior. The roof is made from a combination of aluminum and plexiglass that depicts a map of Paris. 

The interior is inspired by aeronautics and outdoor furniture. It uses aluminum, walnut wood and chrome. The doors are rear-hinged and feature a motorized running board that extends when opening. The seats are attached directly to the center tunnel and appear to be floating in the interior.

There is no engine in the concept, but Renault says that it is working on new ideas for the production version. It wants to use a small, twin-turbo engine with a dual-clutch transmission. The engine would be aluminum but with steel pistons because Renault can make the engine have lower friction by switching to steel. The pistons are hollow, and the idea comes directly from Renault’s F1 engine.

Renault is aiming for the next generation of the Espace to have the same exterior dimensions as the current Grand Espace but weigh 250kg less, emit 40g/km of CO2 less and be 25% more fuel efficient

Van den Acker’s six concepts are the DeZirRenault DeZirFrance, 2010 > present4 photos
for “Love,” CapturRenault Captur ConceptFrance, 2011 > present8 photos
1 video
for “Explore,” R-SpaceRenault R-SpaceFrance, 2011 > 201129 photos
for “Family,” FrendzyRenault Frendzy ConceptFrance, 2011 > present6 photos
for “Work,” Twin’ZRenault Twin ZFrance, 2013 > 201320 photos
and Twin RunRenault Twin RunFrance, 2013 > 2013 for “Play,” and the new Intiale Paris for “Wisdom.” All of them are on display in Frankfurt.