Renault AIR4 flying drone is R4 of the future

Renault has joined forces with Miami-based design consultants TheArsenale to reinvent the iconic Renault R4 as a flying drone of the future.

Tasking the US-based designers to reimagine the Renault 4 in 50 or 60 years’ time, the bizarre flying 4 is believed to provide design cues for the reborn Renault 4 that will return as small pure-electric SUV and share powertrains with the Renault 5 reboot.

To keep weight as low as possible and ensure an ultra-rigid body to handle the forces involved with thrust and lift generated by the drone's four electric motors, the entire shell of the 2021 Renault AIR4 is made of carbon-fire.

With the vehicle looking like a clear homage to the 1961 original, the driver gains access to the cabin by pivoting the shell forward.

Inside, Renault claims there's a "utilitarian" cabin, but no pictures have been provided.

The AIR4 is said to be capable of flying at altitudes of up to 700 metres, cruise at speeds of up to around 94km/h and tilt at up to 70 degrees in flight.

Designed, engineered and built in the south of France, Renault will show off the AIR4 at its flagship showroom on the Champs Elysees in Paris before displaying it in Miami, New York and Macau in 2022.

"AIR4 is a symbol of independence and freedom, born out of the realisation that traffic is compounding, lives are grinding to a halt, and the world above us is unhampered," said a Renault statement.

"AIR4 claims the air as the new road of the future."

Expected to cost less than the Renault 5, the Renault 4 is likely to spawn a delivery van version, with a concept for the small commercial vehicle originally rumoured to be unveiled in November to coincide with the nameplate’s 60th birthday.

When it eventually surfaces, beneath the skin the Renault 4 will sit on the same CMF-B platform as the new Renault 5 and share its electric powertrains.

Originally created as a direct rival to the Citroen 2CV, the Renault 4 was somehow still being built at a plant in Slovenia in 1994.

Over its 33-year reign, the 4 was assembled at an incredible 17 factories around the world, including Renault’s Heidelberg factory in Victoria, where it was built from 1962-1966.

Globally, more than eight million were made.