8
NEWS
What drives Renault design chief
Laurens van den Acker comes clean about Renault's crossover future and the Alpine sports carFormerly at Audi, Ford and Mazda, Dutch designer Laurens van den Acker has visually transformed the Renault range since taking charge of styling in 2009. Here he tells motoring.com.au correspondent Gautam Sharma about his design brief and where to from here for the French brand
GS: The Clio 4 was the first real reflection of your input since joining Renault. That car and the models that followed are a distinct departure from the past. What do you think was lacking before?
LVDA: "When I came in, the assignment from Mr [Carlos] Ghosn was fairly simple: firstly, to design beautiful cars, secondly, to create a very clear visual identity for Renault... the face was lacking identity before. Thirdly, the brief was to separate Renault from Dacia, which is our entry brand. We have to make sure the two brands don't overlap, and that each has the space to grow.
"I think we've done all three by going to a much more sensual, emotional design language, inspired by the fact that we are a French brand and we need to show our Latin side.
"The face is now distinguished by a large diamond, and we have shown how we can go from a Twingo to an Espace using the same identity, with upgrades for modernity and sophistication. But if you see a new Dacia Sandero next to a Clio, you can clearly see the difference. So I think we are on the right track."
GS: Is the template now set, or can you evolve the design language further?
LVDA: "We are a real generalist brand, so we have all kinds of cars. If you look at the Twingo and Clio, you would see two different cars. The same goes for the Captur. Each car has its own identity, but you can see they're from the same family. This is what I would like to continue... we need to be much more coherent than before.
GS: The new Renault products appear more upmarket than before. Was this part of the brief from Mr Ghosn?
LVDA: "If you say so, I'm very pleased, because that was exactly the goal. In order to compete, especially when you get to the big cars, you need to have a visual presence and a rich, technological appearance. So we managed to start from a clean sheet, with new architecture, and develop fresh proportions. So I think we are getting back on track, but we still have a lot to prove."
GS: Is there space in the Renault range for a premium sedan to rival the BMW 5 Series or Mercedes E-Class?
LVDA: "I think you're getting a bit ahead of where I am. My goal was to create a line-up from the Twingo to the Espace that's completely coherent and make sure that we cover all the important segments. Renault had a real weakness in terms of crossovers. Now with the Captur we have a B-segment crossover, and early next year we'll have a C-segment crossover. Then later on we'll have a D-segment crossover. I'm still busy working on getting us back to a proper line-up. To imagine going into BMW 5 Series territory you need rear-wheel-drive and a brand that people are willing to pay more for, and we are still in the process of creating our brand."
GS: Is there space for Renault to develop a premium offshoot, as Citroen has done with its DS models?
LVDA: "I think to start a new brand is very expensive, and it's a long process. On the other hand, I've noticed that companies such as Hyundai have managed to go from low end to high end without needing to introduce a second brand. Time will tell. First we need to earn the money to be able to have that discussion."
GS: How different is it from a designer's point of view to clothe a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car such as the Twingo, versus a conventional front-wheel-drive hatchback such as the Clio?
LVDA: "It's extremely different, especially if you want to give it a sporty look, which I think the Twingo has. It's not just a feminine car as you can also imagine driving it enthusiastically and having fun. If you tell a designer he has to do a sporty car that is very tall, very narrow and very short, he'll probably walk out the room, because that's the opposite of what you want to do. Nevertheless, the advantage of having a rear-engined layout is that the wheels are at the corners, so the car sits really well. The inspiration of the Renault 5 Turbo also helps give it a very iconic look."
GS: Your job as a designer must be made all the more difficult due to the myriad aerodynamic and safety constraints that cars must comply with nowadays?
LVDA: "That's not necessarily the case. In fact, aerodynamics has helped us quite a bit as we have to make cars lower and taper towards the back, so we can give them nice shoulders. Aerodynamics also dictates the use of tall wheels that sit flush with the body, which is exactly what designers want. So it's not all bad news. However, pedestrian impact constraints are more difficult because you need an empty space between the bonnet and the hard parts under it. So you end up with this useless space underneath the bonnet, which inhibits us from providing storage room in the front of a Twingo, for instance."
GS: How do you plan to differentiate the new Alpine products from the mainstream Renault range?
LVDA: "Oh, that's going to be very easy. For now, we are working on just the one car, which is inspired by the Alpine 110 Berlinette. The car is virtually finished. You'll see it soon."
GS: Will there eventually be other models in the Alpine range?
LVDA: "That's too early to say. The sports car business is in some ways a terrible one, as it's very hard to make money out of a sports car idea. Of course, as a designer I'd love to see other models in the Alpine range, but it's still too early to say."
GS: Your personal favourite top 10 designs of all time?
LVDA: "Sure, that's easy... but they're mainly concepts. The Audi Avus, Renault Argos and Laguna concepts, Audi Quattro Spyder concept, Lancia Stratos Zero, the BAT cars from Bertone, the Bertone Carabo, the Pininfarina Modulo, the Peugeot 907 concept and the latest Porsche 911, which I think is really nice, especially in Targa form.
Pictures of Audi Avus Quattro and Ferrari (Pininfarina) Modulo all courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Share this article
Written byGautam Sharma
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayRelated articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.