Renault DeZir gullwing electric car
Renault reveals its dramatic gullwing sports car, the electric DeZir. Return of Alpine?
Renault has revealed this dramatic gullwing coupe ahead of its 2010 Paris motor show debut. While some are getting excited about a potential rebirth of the Alpine brand, this is no modern-day A610 – instead, the DeZir concept previews the future design direction of more mainstream Renaults. And in our eyes that’s pretty excellent news. While a return of the rear-drive Renault coupe would be a welcome one, sharper, more aggressive looking hot Clios and Meganes wouldn’t go amiss, either. Those doors will no doubt stay on the DeZir, though… It’s mid-engined, so to speak, an electric motor boasting 148bhp and 167lb ft sat between driver and rear axle. Modest outputs, perhaps, but a tubular steel frame and Kevlar bodywork ensures an 830kg kerbweight, leading to a sub-supercar 0-62mph sprint of five seconds. The batteries provide a range of 100 miles. It’s rear-wheel drive and boasts a similar suspension set-up to the Megane Trophy racing car, so handling should be more than competent, while a low drag coefficient of 0.25Cd should make the DeZir pretty agile, too, as well as boosting both performance and economy.
Read about Mercedes-Benz's electric gullwing, the SLS E-Cell
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