Renault May Reinvent Le Car

Just the Facts:

• Renault is weighing the development of a premium supermini inspired by the 1972 R5, which was marketed in the U.S. in the mid-1970s as Le Car.
• Positioned as a chic alternative to Citroen's DS3, BMW's Mini and Fiat's 500, Renault executives believe a latter-day R5 would complement the next-generation Twingo city car and the fourth-generation Clio, itself a descendant of the original R5.
• The Renault 5 was the first modern supermini with its three-door hatchback layout, and is still considered a styling tour-de-force in Europe where it was a best-seller for much of the 1970s.

PARIS — Renault is weighing the development of a premium supermini inspired by the 1972 R5, which was marketed in the U.S. in the mid-1970s as Le Car. Positioned as a chic alternative to Citroen's DS3, BMW's Mini and Fiat's 500, Renault executives believe a latter-day R5 would complement the next-generation Twingo city car and the fourth-generation Clio, itself a descendant of the original R5.

The Renault 5 was the first modern supermini with its three-door hatchback layout, and is still considered a styling tour de force in Europe, where it was a best-seller for much of the 1970s.

In the U.S., it was launched in 1976, wittily rebadged Le Car, as a budget alternative to the Honda Civic and the VW Rabbit. But despite winning positive press reviews and scoring excellent fuel economy, the car was a relatively slow seller.

It was quick on the track, however, dominating the SCCA's Showroom Stock "C" class during the 1977 season.

Plans for a contemporary R5 are at a very early stage, not least because Renault has many new models under development as well as an ambitious electric-vehicle program, and they are highly unlikely to include a version for the U.S.

But well-placed insiders believe that the reinvention of one of Renault's best-loved and most stylish models would give it a chance to cash in on the fast-growing market for specialty small cars in Europe and many other markets, besides offering an alternative to premium compacts like the Audi A1 and the Alfa MiTo.

Renault's planners will be anxious to avoid producing a design that is too retro in character when the company is launching itself into a period of more forward-looking and imaginative designs under styling chief Laurens van den Acker.

But the persistent success of the Mini and the Cinquecento is hard to ignore, especially when VW is renewing the Beetle and reintroducing the Microbus. So expect to see plenty of references to the original R5, including the signature rectangular headlights, the slender grille, the unusually low crease in its flanks, the innovative impact-absorbing bumpers (though perhaps in classier, colored textures than the R5's concrete-like resin finish) and the vertical taillights.

A long option list and the scope for extensive personalization also will be key to the car's appeal and its profitability.

Mechanically, the neo-R5 is likely to be based on the Renault Nissan Alliance B platform, as used on today's Clio and the Clio 4 that will be unveiled at this fall's 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show.

Should a new R5 get the green light — and it's a long way from approval — it would be unlikely to appear before 2014. The new Mini and the current 500 were launched 42 and 50 years after the originals, when older buyers still had clear memories of them, so the appearance of a new R5 42 years after the ground-breaking original would be about right.

Inside Line says: Renault will have plenty to offer small-car buyers in 2014 with the Clio 4, a new rear-engined Twingo, the electric Zoe and the production version of the Captur crossover, but a chic, premium-priced R5 reinterpretation could potentially provide a very credible alternative in Europe to the DS3, Mini and Fiat 500. — Richard Bremner, Correspondent