Renault cars that didn't make it
11/16/2025
No, you probably wouldn't have recognized the coupé pictured here straight away. Visually, the (presumably) mid-engined sports car is somewhere between the Lotus Esprit and the Fiat X1/9. The car was never built. Unfortunately, it has to be said. It was created by Renault at the beginning of the seventies. And we might never have seen this maquette had it not been auctioned off on December 7, 2025. The study will go under the hammer together with 179 other exhibits from the Renault Classic collection in Flins near Paris; we have announced the auction with lots of pictures.
But back to the "Coupé Sport". It is said to have been created around 1973 and was modeled on a scale of 1:5, making it around 78 cm long, 33 cm wide and 23 cm high. It is being auctioned together with the transport crate, which is around one meter long and presumably relatively heavy. The auction house Artcurial gives an estimated value of EUR 1000 to 2000, but no minimum bid is required for a knockdown. That sounds quite attractive for a large model showing a car that was never built. And of course, this maquette is not alone at the auction. In fact, a whole series of 1:5 Renault models that never made it into series production are going under the hammer. It's worth taking a second look.
For example, there is the P2 study for a sports coupé by Alpine, created around 1968. Was this an alternative design to the later A310?
Or a two-door coupé study based on the Renault 16 with a rear end that is somewhat reminiscent of the Simca 1200 S.
Around 1968, Renault produced an aerodynamic study showing a compact coupé with short overhangs. Perhaps the technology of the Renault 12 was intended as a basis?
More recent studies also come under the hammer on a model scale, such as the Renault Talisman Concept from 2001. With a V8 engine and gullwing doors, the coupé was quite exciting, and the 1:1 version was then shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2001. We probably won't have to wait any longer for a Renault with a V8 in series production.
At least the name of the Renault Fluence, a concept car from 2004, made it into series production, even if the vehicle produced looked much less spectacular.
In addition to the coupé studies, designs for 1:5 scale sedans will also be available to buy on December 7, 2025. While the Renault 20/30 wooden maquette from around 1973 appears to be quite close to the later production model, ...
... a study from the fifties had no effect on the series. This model, which must have been created at the time of the Renault 4CV and Frégate and should perhaps have been an alternative to the Renault Dauphine, seems all the more interesting. Perhaps one of our readers knows more about it ...
