Big misfire - Renault Avantime
Naturally, if a manufacturer brings a completely new, even a very niche model to the market, he makes every effort to make it successful. However, today we will talk about a car that was probably supposed to be a financial failure. And yet it is still difficult to describe it in other words such as "extraordinary" or even "wonderful". What car are we talking about?
french dreamers
Renault is known for its experiments: they were the first in Europe and the second in the world to introduce the Espace family van. Later, they introduced the Scenic, the first minivan that gave rise to a new, fairly popular, market segment. These examples clearly show that there are visionaries among the engineers of the French manufacturer, and the board is not afraid of bold decisions. However, it seems that for a moment they choked on their own success and came up with an amazing idea - to create a car that looks like a concept car. And not the ones that go to the salons after a few minor changes, but the ones that are created as part of the fun and exercise. A car that looks like another crazy vision of a car of the future that will never even drive on its own. And then put this car up for sale. Yes, I'm talking about Renault Avantime.
Get ahead of your time
When the first visitors to the Geneva motor show in 1999 saw the Avantime, they were no doubt convinced that this crazy car should be the harbinger of a new generation of Espace. Their suspicions would not be unfounded, since the car not only looked very “vanilla”, but was also based on the Espace platform. However, no one believed that it could become something more than just an attraction at the Renault stand. Partly due to the very futuristic design and the unusual shape of the rear of the car (tailgate with a characteristic step), but primarily due to the impractical 3-door body. However, Renault had other plans, and two years later the company introduced the Avantime to showrooms.
Unusual solutions
The final product differed very little from the concept, which was surprising, because there were many unusual and very expensive solutions left. As conceived by the designers of Avantime, it was supposed to be a combination of a coupe with a family van. On the one hand, we got a lot of space inside, on the other hand, elements such as frameless glass in the doors, as well as the lack of a central pillar. The latter solution may cause particular bewilderment, since it significantly worsens the rigidity of the body and the safety of passengers, and therefore requires significant financial costs for the rest of the body to compensate for these losses. Why then abandon the middle rack? So that one small button can be placed in the car, by pressing which the front and rear windows will lower (which will create a large continuous space almost the entire length of the cabin) and open a large glass roof. So we will not get a convertible, but we will get as close as possible to the feeling of driving in a closed car.
Another very expensive but interesting element was the door. In order to easily get into the rear seats, they had to be very large. The problem is that in day to day use this would mean having to find two parking spaces - one to park your car on and the other to provide the space needed to open the door. This problem was solved by a very clever double-hinged system, which made it easy to get in and out of Avantime even in tight parking lots.
Coupe in the skin of a van
In addition to the unusual style and no less unusual decisions, Avantime had other features that are usually attributed to the French coupe. It had a well-tuned suspension, which, combined with the spacious seats, made it ideal for long-distance travel. Under the hood were the most powerful engines from the Renault range at that time - a 2-liter turbo engine with a capacity of 163 hp. 3 hp In short, the Avantime was a luxurious and avant-garde coupe for the maverick who is also a father of a family and needs a place to take her on holiday in comfort. The combination, although intriguing, was not particularly popular with buyers. The car lasted only two years in production, during which 210 units were sold.
Something went wrong?
Looking back, it's easy to see why Avantime failed. In fact, it was not difficult to predict such a fate at the time of launch, so it is rather worth asking why the decision was made to go on sale in the first place. Anyone looking for a practical van does not understand why, instead of a 7-seater Espace, one should choose a less practical car, and dreaming of a French coupe, buy a car with a fancy van body. Moreover, the prices started from a little over 130 thousand. zloty. How many people can be found who are rich enough and so fond of the avant-garde in the automotive industry that they would forego the abundance of interesting cars available in this price range and buy an Avantime? In Renault's defence, it must be added that they were trying to operate on the principle that people don't know they want something if they don't know it can be created. They decided it was time to start introducing potential customers to the new vision of the car, hence the name, loosely translated as "before the time". This is one of the very few cars that, despite the passage of time, never ceases to fascinate me, and if I ever have the luxury of owning a few cars just for the pleasure of owning them, the Avantime will be one of them. . However, despite this sincere sympathy, I must say that if the car were presented in car dealerships today, it would also not be sold. Renault wanted to be too far ahead of the times, and it's hard to even say now if there will ever be a time when this type of car can become popular.
