Renault has revealed a concept for a fully-electric hot hatch named the ZOE e-sport at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.
The French manufacturer has a history of making eccentric concept cars, with past examples including the colossally powerful Espace F1 estate and the inexplicable Twizy Renaultsport F1.
Now we have the ZOE e-sport, which will likely remain just a one-off concept, but with its bold looks and stunning performance figures, it’s one of the most exciting electric cars we’ve ever seen.
Based on the Renault ZOE supermini like the name suggests, the e-sport makes use of Formula E technology borrowed from the Renault e.dams race team. It has a four-wheel drive powertrain equipped with two electric motors that can produce up to 456bhp. That’s nearly 200bhp more than even a Formula E race car currently has.
The ZOE e-sport also has 640Nm of torque, which is available at an instant of course, and the motors are charged by a 40kWh battery pack.
Renault says that the ZOE e-sport can cover the 0-62mph sprint in a supercar-rivalling time of just 3.2 seconds and the concept car’s top speed of 130mph can be reached in less than ten seconds.
Not only does the Renault’s performance benefit from powerful motors, it is also very light thanks to extensive use of carbon fibre for the bodywork. That’s not to say the ZOE e-sport is particularly lightweight compared to other superminis though. In fact, at 1,400kg, it is still heavier than virtually all current mainstream superminis on sale.
However, the ZOE e-sport does get parts like a front splitter, large rear diffuser and rear spoiler to boost the car’s aerodynamics. With its minimalist interior, the ZOE e-sport straddles the line between serving as a road car and racing machine.
