Revived Renault 17 swaps 1.3-litre petrol engine for a rear-mounted electric motor
French brand revives 1970s coupé with striking new look and power to match modern VW Golf GTI
Renault has revived the 17 coupé of the 1970s as a sleek, sporting EV with a carbonfibre chassis and as much power as a modern Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Created in partnership with French designer Ora Ito, the restomod is the latest in a series of reimagined Renault classics that pair retro design cues with modern underpinnings and technology.
The 17 was launched in 1971 as Renault’s first front-wheel-drive coupé, based on the underpinnings of the hugely popular Renault 12 saloon.
Described as “very much a modern vehicle”, the 17 restomod swaps the original 1605cc petrol engine and FWD format for a 270bhp electric motor on the rear axle – which is thought to be closely related to the ‘e-PT-200kW’ motor that Renault will install in its most powerful EVs from 2027.
The French firm has given no performance details but said output will be enough to substantially improve upon the performance of the original petrol car, which in a contemporary Autocar road test achieved a 0-60mph time of 13.2sec.
Meanwhile, the carbonfibre chassis is said to keep the kerb weight down to just 1400kg – less than that of the Lotus Emira.
Stylistically, Renaut’s reimagining of the 17 is similar in its understated, retro-futuristic conception to recent electric revivals of the Opel Manta and Hyundai Pony coupés, the originals of which date from the same era.
Ito’s bold reimagining of the coupé’s design aims to combine “the classic charm of the original with the technologies and materials of today”.
To that end, the restomod has the same cabin, doors, windows, glass, seals and underbody as the original car, but it sits notably closer to the ground and has been widened by 170mm “for better roadholding”.
The 17’s trademark quad circular headlights have been swapped for slim rectangular slits – tinted yellow in keeping with its 1970s French heritage – and the rear is now illuminated by a thin wraparound strip.
The cockpit is an overtly 1970s-flavoured affair, trimmed in brown and beige and with all the screens housed in retro lozenge-shaped housings atop a minimalist dashboard.
The R17 Electric Restomod x Ora Ito, to use its full name, will make its public debut on Renault’s stand at the Paris motor show next month, where the firm is also expected to reveal the production version of the 4 electric crossover.
Renault hasn’t alluded to any plans for a production version, but a succession of similarly conceived, retro-futuristic Renault concepts revealed over the last three years have all been based on old models that are now being brought back as EVs: the 4, 5 and Twingo.
Unlike with those urban-oriented, economy-focused runarounds, though, the business case for a revival of a two-door coupé would seem less obvious.
Renault hasn’t sold a coupé since the unpopular two-door Laguna was retired in 2015, around the same that the likes of the Volkswagen Scirocco, Vauxhall Astra GTC and Hyundai Veloster all bowed out, the market for hatchback-based coupés having evaporated.
However, green shoots of a renaissance have appeared in recent times, with Honda bringing back the Prelude as a Civic-based hybrid coupé and Toyota hinting at plans for a similarly conceived Celica revival.
