Renault Please Please Please Build The 8 Gordini Concept

Renault has been on an absolute tear lately, launching a slew of new EVs with retro designs inspired by some of its most iconic models. The new 5, the 4, the Twingo, and the R5 Turbo 3E are all absolute slam dunks, especially from a design standpoint. They all started out as concepts, with the production models sticking really close to the show cars, and that's what makes Renault's newest concept so enticing. This is the new Renault 8 Gordini, a two-door coupe inspired by the old Renault 8 Gordini that was a rally star in the 1960s.

Renault says this is just a show car, one that will be on display at the Paris Motor Show next month before it gets moved to the still-under-construction Renault Collections museum that's opening in 15 months. Given how nearly all of Renault's recent concepts have become production cars (not just those four retro ones), though, come on, they've gotta build this thing for real! Renault would instantly sell tons to all the people who have been clamoring for boxy coupes like the Chevy Code 130R and Nissan IDx.

The Renault 8 sedan was first introduced in 1962, with a small inline-4 engine mounted in the trunk, powering the rear wheels. The Gordini came along in 1964, with upgrades that doubled the motor's output to 95 horsepower, plus better suspension and a 4-speed manual. Later models got even more power and a 5-speed, but they all came in bright blue with off-center white stripes, and larger headlights gave the Gordinis a more distinctive face than regular Renault 8s.

Instead of having an engine in the trunk, the new 8 Gordini concept has a 270-hp electric motor at the rear axle. Renault doesn't say anything else about the car's hypothetical performance beyond mentioning that the front wheels are 19-inchers and the rears are 20s. Though the company's other EVs are front-wheel drive (save for the Turbo 3E), I really don't think it would be hard to engineer a car like the 8 Gordini for production — hell, maybe Renault could build it on the new Alpine A110's platform.

The automaker says the project started as a competition in the Renault Design studio, and that more than 300 sketches were submitted that ranged from "classic retro to futuristic styling, concepts fusing heritage with modern edge, or GT-inspired looks." Out of all those proposals, two were chosen to be made into 2:5 scale models, and those two then ended up merging into the final product. While this new concept has only two doors instead of four, and it's half a foot longer and over a foot wider than the old Gordini (four inches lower, too), its proportions and details totally capture the spirit of the old model. A café racer–inspired touch is how the old car's chrome side molding was reinterpreted as a character line in the concept's bodywork.

Renault

Its front end has four large headlights set into a sculpted-out panel, with two additional big lights in the bumper just atop a full-width intake. Like all of Renault's cars, it's a super distinctive face with a lot of personality, and the entire nose is one removable panel. The boxy front fenders are wide but the super-flared rear ones even more so, and they're nicely integrated into the bodywork. Slightly squaring off the wheel arches is a nice vintage touch. The greenhouse is really well resolved, with a cute spoiler at the top of the rear window, and the side quarter windows curve inward to create an air intake in the C-pillar.

The rear is wonderful, too. A dramatic diffuser takes up most of the rear end, with the bodywork coming to some crisp pointy edges. I love the graphic taillights that disappear when turned off, the air vents running along the trunk edge, and how the stripes align with it all. The font for the badges is also really fantastic, and something that not enough designers put real personality into these days. 

Maybe even more stunning than the exterior is the 8 Gordini's interior. Thankfully, though the car's bodywork is made from carbon fiber, there's none to be found in here. Two trios of round digital displays with thick metal bezels sit atop a brushed aluminum panel that's recessed into the dashboard, giving an impression of the original Gordini's design. There's a row of toggle switches in the center of the dash, and the aluminum center console has a bunch of phenomenal knobs for climate controls, plus the shifter buttons and window switches.

Renault

The bucket seats have blue corduroy centers with a design that calls back to the original, and the upper section of the seats are black instead of blue, which Renault says gives the illusion of old seats that had no headrests. The top stitching on the door panels is meant to look like curbs on a racetrack, the exterior stripe is echoed by two blue Alcantara stripes on the dashboard in front of the driver, and there are lots of vertical lines that align with the exterior vents. It's just a two-seater, but I could envision a production model having a small back seat.

Renault

Renault says the 8 Gordini concept is "an exploratory project for the delight of motoring enthusiasts everywhere" that shows how serious the brand is about keeping its heritage alive. Again, there's nothing to suggest Renault is thinking about putting this concept into production. Speaking to Autocar, advanced design chief Romain Gauvin said, "Today it's just a concept car and we don't see a future. The purpose was more to celebrate Gordini." But there's precedent, and Renault definitely could do it. What possible reason could there be not to?