Paris-based Renault has introduced an upscale-looking new concept car dubbed Coupé Corbusier at a private event held on the outskirts of its home town.
The car maker’s industrial design team explains that the Coupé Corbusier concept is a homage to the modernist principles and theories of Le Corbusier, one of France’s best-known 20th-century architects. Its design is intended to be a modern-day interpretation of the luxurious French cars that roamed the streets of big European cities during the 1930s.
The coupe consequently boasts an exceptionally long hood, an ultra-low roof line and a sporty, fastback-like silhouette. Its front end is accented by thin LED headlights and a hexagonal grille with metal inserts, while the back end gets minimalist LED tail lamps.
Accessed via large suicide doors that swing upward, the cockpit offers space for two passengers in a futuristic yet back-to-basics atmosphere with individual bucket seats. The roof is made up of several glass panels attached to metal beams, a design solution that’s also found on many of the houses and buildings drawn by Le Corbusier in the middle of the 20th century. Passengers can store their gear in the trunk and in storage compartments that are cleverly integrated into the front fenders.
Technical specifications haven’t been published so what lies under the Coupé Corbusier’s long hood is a mystery. In fact, we don’t even know whether or not the concept is functional. However, given its proportions, it’s most likely not based on an existing Renault model.
Renault stresses that the Coupé Corbusier concept is merely a one-off model built to show what its designers like to do in their spare time. It won’t be given the green light for production, and it’s highly unlikely to influence the firm’s upcoming products.
