Single-seat Renault Filante Record 2025 is the French brand’s most outrageous EV yet
The incredibly sculptural design is inspired by record-breaking cars from Renault’s past
Renault has taken yet another trip down memory lane, this time to create a radical single-seat “laboratory on wheels” inspired by the brand’s land speed record-breaking cars from the 1920s and 1950s. But rather than chasing new speed records, Renault plans to focus on vehicle efficiency – pushing the limits of aerodynamics and electric car technology, and establishing new records in the process, much like the Mercedes Vision EQXX.
Designers of the Renault Filante Record 2025 have taken their inspiration from the hundred-year-old Renault 40CV ‘des Records’, which set speed and endurance records in 1925. The new car’s flowing, streamlined silhouette is supposed to look like it was sculpted by the air itself. “It reflects both performance and timeless elegance,” says Sandeep Bhambra, director of advanced design for Renault. “Every inch of the surface was crafted to capture the light and showcase the body lines, which appear to melt into the air.”
Like the Filante Record 2025, the Renault 40CV ‘des Records’ was a single-seater with an enormous, elongated bonnet, housing a thunderous 9.1-litre engine. This also pushed the cockpit back as far as possible, with the design influenced by fighter planes of the time.
The wheels on the 2025 car are separated from the body, as they were on the 40 CV des Records and the later Nervasportdes Records from 1934 that also served as inspiration. However, the fairings are taken from the turbine-powered Etoile Filante from 1956, and should improve airflow further. Either way, we get to admire the exposed suspension components, which have clearly been influenced by Formula One.
Underneath those curvaceous fairings are specially designed 19-inch Michelin tyres that create around 40 per cent less rolling resistance than ordinary car tyres. While Renault hasn’t confirmed the Filante Record 2025’s drag coefficient (how easily it cuts through the air), we expect it to be similar to the Mercedes EQXX, which is a very streamlined car.
Like the unique round headlights, the Ultraviolet Blue colour is a nod to the Filante Record 2025’s ancestors, and it appears either blue or violet depending the light conditions and how you’re looking at the car. Meanwhile, the interior draws from the world of aviation, Formula One and even space travel, and is designed so that every control is easily within the driver’s reach.
Some of the new tech onboard the Filante Record 2025 includes steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire that, as their names suggest, does without mechanical connections from the steering wheel to the front wheels, or for the brakes. This reduces the number of mechanical components required, which in turn frees up more space under the metal and reduces weight.
Another benefit of a steer-by-wire system is that the steering wheel and other components can be fitted wherever Renault needs, which allows its engineers to overcome platform-related constraints. Additionally, the relative freedom created by brake and steer-by-wire systems means that the controls can be placed on the steering wheel, making driving the car more accessible and easier for people with limited mobility.
The 87kWh battery in Filante Record 2025 also uses new cell-to-pack technology to maximise efficiency, reduce weight and make the most of the available space, which was limited, despite the car measuring 5.12 metres long – about the same as a Mercedes S-Class. That’s because the single-seater is only 1.71 metres wide, meaning it’s narrower than a Renault Clio supermini.
The Renault Scenic family SUV offers up to 379 miles of range from an 87kWh battery, however the Filante Record 2025 is sure to go much, much further thanks to its radical design and the fact it only weighs 1,000kg – with 600kg of this being the weight of the battery pack.
Renault’s Filante Record 2025 made its public debut at the Rétromobile motor show in Paris, which opened on 5 February. Wind tunnel testing will begin shortly after the classic car show, with record attempts beginning in the summer.
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