Tuesday 7th March 2017

Renault Zoe e-sport revealed

460hp, four-wheel drive and one heck of a bodykit - the Zoe gets interesting!

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Worthy though it is, the Renault Zoe has never been one to get pulses racing at PH. However, we've recently seen the Zoe rally car and now there's this: the Zoe e-sport. Sort of the touring car one, if you will.

Who left the regular Zoe in here then?

Interestingly it shows that the idea of motorsport inspired road cars isn't dead in the world of EV racing, this car drawing upon Renault's experience in Formula E. And yes, that means more than just the paint. The electric motors here use the same high-capacity permanent magnet technology as in the race car, although with a motor both front and rear it makes 455hp (and 472lb ft) where the single-seaters are limited to 275hp. Again as in Formula E, both air and water cooling is used to keep the batteries at the optimum temperature.

Renault claims that the e-sport Zoe can reach 62mph in 3.2 seconds before reaching 130mph in less than ten. Four driving modes can prioritise range or power, plus adjust the power delivery of the motors "to place greater emphasis on front- or rear-wheel drive." Interesting...

Underneath the e-sport there isn't really much Zoe at all. A Tork Engineering tubular steel chassis is derived from "Renault Sport cars competing in hill climbs and ice races", the ride is height is much lower, the tracks are considerably wider and the car is four-wheel drive. Double wishbones are used at each corner, along with four-way adjustable Ohlins dampers. Who'd have thought the next Renault to follow the Trophy-R with standard Ohlins dampers would be a Zoe? 20-inch wheels, 245/30 R20 tyres and big discs complete the dynamic makeover.

Don't hold out your hopes...

The Satin Blue body uses a lot of carbon fibre and in its construction, meaning that weight is 1,450kg. Doesn't sound tiny, but then 450kg of that is the batteries... Externally too you'll notice the big front splitter, rear diffuser and carbon spoiler; combined with a flat floor Renault claims "outstanding" aerodynamics, but no figures have been released yet. Should you want to put those claims to the test, the two-seat e-sport does come with an FIA-approved cage in the back.

The possibility of doing so of course remains very unlikely however, though it's good to see a crazy French concept at a European motor show; Peugeot appears to have gone quiet of late. Whether the Formula E influence can extend to a genuine performance Zoe remains to be seen. In the meantime the road car is available with a higher density battery for increased range, but sadly nothing more.

[Mince]

[Butter Face]

Stuff like this is why I love Renault.

[Mr GrimNasty]

If they make it, lets hope the real world range is more than 75 miles and it doesn't have a 1 year residual of 25%!

[V8 TEJ]

Has a Clio V6 look about it too

[kambites]

Would be great if they could actually produce it for less than £100k...

[alpha channel]

Oh I like that! As said hopefully the range isn't too woeful.

[IrishAsal]

Mr GrimNasty said:

If they make it, lets hope the real world range is more than 75 miles and it doesn't have a 1 year residual of 25%!

I hope it does have those residuals.. I'd grab one in a second!

[MitchT]

Will it actually look like that or is is the usual case of "here's what we could have done"?

[anonymous-user]

Perhaps Renault just need to sort out their Renault Sport road going models first before building a Zoe we all know will never happen.

What a waste of time and money.

[ajprice]

This is an OTT concept but I wouldn't mind seeing a RenaultSport Zoe model, with more power in the motor and the looks beefed up a bit. There's a BMW i3 S model coming, so why not?

[AnotherClarkey]

ajprice said:

This is an OTT concept but I wouldn't mind seeing a RenaultSport Zoe model, with more power in the motor and the looks beefed up a bit. There's a BMW i3 S model coming, so why not?

If they did a Renaultsport Zoe I would cancel my Tesla model 3 deposit straight away. I would be quite happy with 270bhp and front wheel drive - much more of a hot hatch person than an executive saloon one.

[Adrian87]

This is brilliant, hopefully it gets the green light for production and doesn't end up a marketing exercise like the R.S.16.

[CooperS]

Adrian87 said:

This is brilliant, hopefully it gets the green light for production and doesn't end up a marketing exercise like the R.S.16.

If RS of recent are anything to go by this is sadly a concept that won't be moved into limited production which is mad considering how powerful the limited models have been for Renault of the decades.....

[CDP]

It's a pity they can't do it as a limited RenaultSport run under IVA/Small volume type approval regulations.

[blearyeyedboy]

IrishAsal said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

If they make it, lets hope the real world range is more than 75 miles and it doesn't have a 1 year residual of 25%!

I hope it does have those residuals.. I'd grab one in a second!

With residuals like that,I'd grab one in a year rather than in a second.

[stuckmojo]

AnotherClarkey said:

If they did a Renaultsport Zoe I would cancel my Tesla model 3 deposit straight away. I would be quite happy with 270bhp and front REAR wheel drive - much more of a hot hatch person than an executive saloon one.

Edited to share my point.

Actually, no. I'd not cancel the Model 3 order for this.

[rodericb]

MitchT said:

Will it actually look like that or is is the usual case of "here's what we could have done"?

Oh yeah, this twin-engined, spaceframed, carbon fibre bodied and ohlins suspended version of the Zoe will totally look like this when it hits the dealers showrooms!

[cal93]

Whether they build it or not (probably not) that does look the absolute business (apart from the steering wheel) and something like this (minus the Renault badging) could potentially get me out of a petrol car. 450kg in battery weight sounds like A LOT.

[ChesterUK]

This is obviously an engineering exercise to show what can be achieved. It's neither practical, accessible, or affordable (including for Renault), but it's exactly this kind of concept that gets me excited about what's to come in the world of EV. If something like this only had a range of 75 miles, I wouldn't care; I'd be exhausted after an hour of that kind of acceleration and other forces!

Yeah, my juices are flowing. So, what's next? An MX-5e? A 370Ze? Yes please!