| Road Tests, Auto Features

Electric Renault Concept

(Thu 02 Oct 08)

There's no shortage of good ideas in Renault's new Z.E. Concept. The letters stand for Zero Emissions, and they provide a clue that the car - based on the recently-announced Kangoo be bop - is powered by a 94bhp electric motor using lithium-ion batteries.

Renault Z.E. Concept 01.

One issue with electric vehicles is that the batteries have to feed all the ancillary equipment, such as lights and air-conditioning and so on, as well as the motor itself. Renault has devoted a lot of though to this, and has given the Z.E.'s bodywork double panelling with a thin insulating layer of air (yes, just like a Thermos flask) to keep the interior temperature as stable as possible.

Heat-reflective paint and green-tinted windows also play a part in reducing the effects of the outside world, and there's also a temperature regulation system which is powered not by the batteries but by solar panels in the roof. On top of all that, the heating controls have been positioned for maximum efficiency, on the basis that the driver will feel warm if his or her face and hands are warm, regardless of the overall temperature of the interior.

The solar panels mentioned above also power streamlined, low-energy cameras which take the place of aerodynamically inefficient door mirrors. Further streamlining comes in the form of carefully designed low-drag alloy wheels.

To reduce load on the batteries still further, the headlights are LED units which don't use much energy (and last a lot longer than conventional bulbs), while the navigation system operates through the driver's mobile phone, removing the necessity of an on-board computer.

Renault Z.E. Concept 02.

It's spectacularly unlikely that the Z.E. Concept will ever go into production, but Renault and its Alliance partner Nissan have signed agreements with Denmark, Israel, Portugal, Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture and the State of Tennessee which are intended to lead to mass-marketing of "this form of vehicle" starting in 2011.