Concept Car of the Week: Renault Avantime (1999)

In the history of French car design, Philippe Guédon is a legend. While maybe not as well-known as Patrick Le Quement or Robert Opron, Guédon has been involved in the design of many vehicles from Simca, Matra and of course Renault. He is considered the father of the Renault Espace, a design widely attributed to designer Antonis Volanis but finally shepherded to production by Guédon for Renault in 1984.

Philippe Guédon; in love with the architecture of cars – and buildings

Guédon is not only interested in the styling of cars, he is passionate about the architecture of vehicles; their packaging, form, and interior space. Guédon is also passionate about building architecture and is a particular admirer of Le Corbusier, the Swiss/French architect, painter and sometimes car designer. Guédon has said about car design, “[It is] a work that brings you closer to the feeling of fullness and fulfilment that a woman has when she produces a life.”

Renault Espace III – the basis for the Avantime

By the mid-1990s, the Espace had entered its second decade and received an extensive redesign for generation three, while the first generation of children that had grown up traveling in the MPV were now old enough for their own cars. Guédon theorized that these young people would soon miss the spaciousness and flexibility that Espace afforded. He would later recall:

“L’Avantime proceeded from the idea of rethinking the coupé. In collaboration with Renault, we offered a coupé to those who, having [travelled] in a minivan, had become accustomed to a generous passenger compartment and a high driving position. We wanted to allow them to go to the coupé without falling back into the traditional car…”

Early sketch of the Avantime showing a cabriolet architecture

Guédon and his staff at Matra began sketching ideas for a coupé based on the Espace, that could possibly embody the fun of a cabriolet. An Espace chassis, then being assembled at Matra, was requisitioned for the project, and a prototype was constructed.

The project was presented to Renault and accepted as a car that could be built at Matra on the Espace chassis. But Renault, under the leadership of Patrick Le Quement, would take over the project and coordinate its styling with such projects as the forthcoming Vel Satis. The project acquired a name at this point as well: Avantime – a portmanteau of ‘avant’, French for forward, and ‘time’, together signifying the forward-looking nature of the car.

The Avantime was introduced to the press at the Louvre in Paris in February of 1999, then at the Geneva Motor Show a month later. By then the car had acquired a new designation, ‘Coupéspace’ – another portmanteau, this time of ‘coupé’ and Espace, which denoted the sort of mid-point marketing positioning Renault hoped to achieve with the car.

Avantime schematic (courtesy of Avantime-Gallery.com)

The Avantime was met with a mix of critical praise and disdain. Without a doubt, it was the most controversial monospace since Marc Deschamps’ Lamborghini Genesis project of 1988, or Giugiaro’s New York Taxi project of 1976. Still, it was a project that represented a new generation of design and packaging for Renault – and since it was based on the Espace, it was relatively economical to build.

Production began in 2001, and sales were slow. There wasn’t much concern at first – long-timers at Renault remembered the Espace famously sold only nine units in its first month on the market – but sales did not improve with time, even though press reports were generally positive.

Avantime Interior (right hand drive) – plenty of room for four

And there was much to praise. Built on an Espace chassis, there was plenty of interior room for a coupé – even in the back seat. The appointments were luxurious. The cabriolet concept had to be modified to comprise a spaceframe with a panoramic roof and large window glass. The roof and side windows could all be opened with the touch of a single button, allowing a “grand air” convertible feel.

The doors, while large, were mounted on semi-pantograph hinges, allowing a wide opening even in a limited space. Luggage space was more than generous for four. The initial models were powered by a three-litre V6 – plenty of power, but not such great fuel economy (weaker but more frugal four-cylinder engines appeared soon afterwards).

Car? Spaceship? Who knew?

The styling, however, was a stumbling block for many. The hybrid architecture of the car meant that it was too large and chunky for a coupé, but not functional enough for an MPV. There was thus never a true understanding of what the Avantime exactly was. Was it a coupé? Was it a less functional MPV? Was it a shooting brake? Was it a large sports car? A tourer? A monospace from the future? It was all those things, and yet …not. Guédon would later remember:

“…Moreover, the style, due to Renault and which I find remarkable, is part of what is called, in customer surveys, ‘clivants’ [i.e. divisive] – that is to say that, at the beginning of the model, it provokes clear reactions: one loves or one hates [it]. Generally, the situation subsides with time and the new forms of the car are digested in the same way that Van Gogh’s paintings have been assimilated. But all this required a maturation time…”

With people as scale figures, one sees just how large the Avantime was

Unfortunately, neither time nor timing were on the Avantime’s side. It was introduced close to the launch of the Vel Satis, leading to some market confusion between the two. The Avantime was produced from 2001 to 2003, then terminated for poor sales. Sadly, it was the end for Matra as well; Renault moved production of the Espace elsewhere and the Matra factory was closed. The technical assets of Matra were sold to Pininfarina, while the marque itself survives in a more limited form as a producer of bicycles.

Guédon waits for a new appreciation of the Avantime

Philippe Guédon remains philosophical about the Avantime – and in an interview a few years ago, even hoped for a revival:

“I continue to think that with more time and work on the product, as had been done on the Espace, the car would have proven itself. I am convinced that, in one form or another, she will experience a posterity.”

Is the Avantime a design whose time has come?

Perhaps in an era of emerging autonomous technologies and alternate power systems, when we are reassessing the architecture of cars, the Avantime will find a new audience and a new appreciation. For those of the design community who appreciated the quirky genius of the car, and of course for Philippe Guédon, the day of vindication cannot come soon enough.