Single-seat Renault Filante Record 2025 is the French brand’s most outrageous EV yet
The incredibly sculptural design is inspired by record-breaking cars from Renault’s past
Renault has taken yet another trip down memory lane, this time to create a radical single-seat "laboratory on wheels” that’s inspired by the brand’s land speed record-breaking cars from the 20th century and aims to push the limits of aerodynamics and today’s electric-car technology.
It’s called the Renault Filante Record 2025, but rather than chasing more speed glory, its creators are looking to establish new energy efficiency records with this outrageous car – much like the Mercedes Vision EQXX – while also experimenting with new technology that could find its way into the future production cars.
The flowing, streamline silhouette is supposed to look like it was sculpted by the air itself. “It reflects both performance and timeless elegance,” says Sandeep Bhambra, director of advanced design for Renault. “Every inch of the surface was crafted to capture the light and showcase the body lines, which appear to melt into the air.”
The main inspiration was the torpedo-like Renault 40 CV ‘des Records’ from 1925 that broke several speed and endurance records. It was also a single-seater with an enormous, elongated bonnet, while its cockpit was pushed back as far as possible, clearly influenced by fighter planes.
The wheels are separated from the body of the car, as they were on the 40 CV des Records and the later Nervasportdes Records from 1934 that also served as inspiration. However, the fairings are taken from the turbine-powered Etoile Filante from 1956, and should improve airflow further. Either way, we get to admire the exposed suspension components.
Underneath those curvaceous fairings are specially designed 19-inch Michelin tyres that create around 40 per cent less rolling resistance than ordinary car tyres, while the round headlights are another reference to the 40 CV des Records.
The unique Ultraviolet Blue colour is a nod to the Filante Record 2025’s ancestors, and appears either blue or violet depending the light conditions and how you’re looking at the car. Meanwhile, the interior draws from the world of aviation, Formula One and even space travel, and is designed so that every control is easily within the driver’s reach.
Some of the new tech onboard the Filante Record 2025 includes steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire that, as their names suggest, does without mechanical connections from the steering wheel to the front wheels, or for the brakes. This reduces the number of mechanical components required, which in turn frees up more space under the metal and reduces weight.
Another benefit of a steer-by-wire system is the steering wheel and other components can be fitted wherever Renault needs, which would allow its engineers to overcome platform-related and standardisation constraints.
The 87kWh battery in Filante Record 2025 also uses new cell-to-pack technology to maximise efficiency, reduce weight and make the most of the available space, which was limited, despite the car measuring 5.12 metres long – about the same as a Mercedes S-Class. That’s because the single-seater is only 1.71 metres wide, meaning it’s narrower than a Renault Clio supermini.
The Renault Scenic family SUV offers up to 379 miles of range from its 87kWh battery, however, the Filante Record 2025 is sure to go much, much further thanks to its radical design and the fact it only weighs 1,000kg – nearly half as much as the Scenic.
Renault’s Filante Record 2025 will make its public debut at the Rétromobile motor show in Paris, which opens on 5 February, before the brand begins any record attempts, which it’s hoping to do within the first half of this year.
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