Renault concept blurs boundaries

It showed us the stunning Egeus at last September’s Frankfurt motor show, and now Renault is limbering up to reveal the equally eye-catching Altica at the Geneva expo late this month.

Like the Egeus, the Altica blurs the boundaries between a coupe and a wagon -- Renault claims it offers the practicality of the latter with the visual appeal of the former.

Note the sleek, thrusting front end, which is married to an almost van-like derriere. It also features a “mosaic of transparent panes” above the rear haunches. Says Regie, these are designed to convey an impression of forward movement and allow sunlight to filter into the cabin -- a bit like stained glass windows.

The headlamps feature four different modes -- daytime running lights (DRL), sidelights, dipped beam and main beam -- and function using rows of diodes.

Access to the interior is provided by a novel scissor-door set-up, which looks great, but it’s perhaps not the best arrangement for tight parking spots. There’s seating for four occupants, each of whom get to rest their bums on individual pews.

Interestingly, the driver’s seat is fixed, but adjustability for varying physiques is provided by a moveable ‘drive station’ and pedals. The height-adjustable centre armrest also deploys automatically as the driver sits down.

Altica’s pioneering technology includes a new 130kW 2.0 dCi particulate filter-equipped diesel engine, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Expect this drivetrain to feature in upcoming production models.

The design study’s aerodynamics are said to benefit from ‘Synthetic Jet’, a system located at the extremity of the roof that generates jets of air that are alternately blown and sucked through a 2mm wide slit. This is claimed to reduce the car’s drag coefficient by 15 per cent at 130km/h. Quite clever.

Altica: in a nutshell