Retro Renault 5 Prototype Masks Advanced Tech

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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12th February 2021

The retro styling of Renault’s new Renault 5 Prototype hints at past glories but promises advanced technologies.

Not far removed from the styling of the cult car of the 1970s, the Nicolas Jardin designed new 5 Prototype includes a modern interpretation of the original car’s ‘winking’ headlights. While no powertrain details have yet been revealed, electrification, whether hybrid or full battery and electric motor, is almost a guarantee.

Advanced lighting technology that is detailed uses LED matrix technology to bring the headlights to life. This is demonstrated by the Renault 5 Prototype’s welcome sequence where the new logo illuminates and initiates an animation that extends into the front grille, moving outwards to the main lights that then come to life, as if the car is blinking.

Born from the automaker’s the Technocentre, where Groupe Renault concept cars and models are developed, its rectangular daytime running lights are positioned lower down the front of the vehicle and are reminiscent of the additional fog lights of the original Renault 5 which fit into the bumper in body colour. Jardin said: “The work on the prototype was not a free subject. It was a work of reinterpretation of the R5 and its projection into the future, to make it a modern object.

“To be a worthy heir to the R5, the car had to become expressive and lively. We have succeeded with the prototype, a true object of modern design, embodying the Renault joie de vivre.”

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_