And there she is. the promised Renault 4L of the century XXI has been “caught up” in the patent register of the European Patent Office in anticipation of official disclosure this autumn.
It is not, however, the production model of the new 4L — launch is only scheduled for 2025 — but rather the concept designed to be part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the launch of the original Renault 4.
Therefore, the production model may undergo substantial changes and certainly Renault will take this early opportunity to assess the reception of this concept that will inform the future production version.
Renault's electric offensive won't necessarily go through a revival of models from the past, but after showing the 5 Prototype and now we are seeing, in advance, the 4Ever (apparently the name of this concept), at least in the segment B, where these two models will be positioned, it is clear the bet on style with “aroma” and nostalgia.
The new Renault 4
From what we can see in the patent registration, the silhouette of this electric crossover is unmistakable, and the influence of the Renault 4 is clear. However, stylistically, there was an obvious effort not to create a design too close to the original, focusing on contemporary solutions that they reinterpret those of the past.
This is visible on the face of this 4th century Renault 4 XXI, where despite maintaining a vertical front, the LED headlamps, composed of three horizontal segments, reinterpret the original circular ones. Or, the vertical elements in the lower area, which allude to the bumper brackets of the original Renault 4.
The C-pillar stands out in profile, which includes a trapezoidal element that corresponds to the third side window of the Renault 4L, but also note the red line separating the roof from the rest of the bodywork, a graphic element seen first on the Renault 5 Prototype.
At the rear, this new Renault 4 maintains the vertical arrangement of the optics as in the original model, although here they are integrated in an area delimited by a frame that surrounds them and extends across the entire width of the model — the frame will probably also be illuminated, giving a luminous signature characteristic of the model.
The future Renault 4 will, like the 5, be electric only and only, with both models sharing the CMF-B EV, Renault's dedicated platform for its future compact electric cars. With the launch date still so far away in time, nothing is known about its technical characteristics (power or battery capacity), but the 2023 launch of the Renault 5 should more clearly anticipate what to expect for the future Renault 4 .