Renault’s Nepta Prototype
Monday, October 9th, 2006
Renault’s new Nepta prototype is a convertible so sleek that it appears, on first glace, to have no way in. At first, we wondered if Renault found the Nepta’s sides so flowing that it decided doors would interrupt the sculpture. But we learned that the Nepta has centrally positioned, gull-wing doors, an old-school design touch applied here with such smoothness that it is invisible when the car is in motion. Gull-wings are a favorite feature for designers of concept cars, prototypes designed to dazzle auto-show crowds. Whether Renault ends up putting the vehicle into production or not, the Nepta is one of the coolest concept cars of 2006.
The Nepta is an upscale modernization of the classic sports-car body: elegant and low-slung. While a pure sports car would have either two seats or a “2+2″ configuration, the Nepta is a four-seater with what Renault calls a “spacious and comfortable interior”, something you won’t find on such sports cars as the Lotus Elise or Dodge Viper.
Renault wants the Nepta to appeal to everybody, fans of speed, luxury, comfort and sleek design. While the car has a sporty engine, a 420-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 that provides zero-to-60 acceleration in under five seconds, Renault said in a recent statement that the Nepta offers “performance at the wheel that is worthy of a prestige sedan” not exactly the driving dynamics for which, say, Lamborghini strives.
In fact, the whole “high horsepower dressed for high tea” aesthetic seems less like Renault, whose cars blend proletarian prices with ethereal designs and more like brands from across the Rhine, such as Audi and DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes-Benz subsidiary.
Like Audi, Renault has one of the world’s premier automotive design departments, and the Nepta may be its masterpiece. The car’s wave-shaped side panels highlight the long body and set the tone for a car that is as fluid as café au lait. The clean front-end design features what Renault calls “boomerang-shaped indicator lights” positioned at the top of the lighting units. The rear end is long and tapered, and the rear overhang is longer than that of the front, lending the car distinctive, graceful proportions.
When one opens the motor-driven, gull-wing doors, one reveals the cockpit and engine. Renault has covered the door hinges in polished aluminum panels, creating the impression of, as the company says, “a shooting star that runs the full length of the front bonnet.” The Nepta’s fancy interior has such artful touches as a dashboard that appears to be suspended. Leather trim surrounds the tachometer and other old-school-looking instruments, which combine analog and digital displays.
Tags: renault, nepta prototype, sports car, nepta
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