Renault’s renewed assault on the premium car sector begins today, with this luxurious Nepta showcar. It’s a vast, opulent convertible, designed to waft you across continents as if the golden age of motoring hadn’t been superseded by the budget airline revolution.
The Nepta is Renault’s attention-seeking concept for this month’s Paris motor show. Unsually for La Regie, it has a twin-turbocharged V6 mounted longitudinally and turning the rear wheels.
Renault has publicly committed to launching five luxury cars between 2007 and 2009, and doubling top-end output to 200,000 cars a year
Renault says the Nepta’s design is inspired by classic grand tourers, although the details and technology are thoroughly modern. The proportions and stance are very stately, with a long, tapered rear end containing a sizeable overhang. The Nepta features wave-shaped panels to create a sense of fluidity, while the car has a two-tone effect thanks to the aluminium lower body section.
The wheels measure 23 inches in diameter, and their massive size is in keeping with the Nepta’s barge-like dimensions. It measures almost 5m-long, and is wider (though lower) than Bentley’s forthcoming GTC cabrio. Access to the cabin is by gullwing doors.
The mechanicals are throughly intriguing. The 3.5-litre V6, used by both Renault and Nissan, is here breathed on by twin turbochargers and has direct injection to save fuel. Peak outputs climb from 241bhp and 243lb ft to a hefty 420bhp and 413lb ft.
Power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission, with gearchanges operated by wheel-mounted paddles. Renault claims a 0-62mph sprint in 4.9sec.
Typically for a Renault concept, the Nepta has a cabin packed with eye-catching details. The dashboard looks as if it’s floating. Old-school leather and contemporary aluminium wrap around analogue and digital instruments, to reinforce the mix of classic and modern.
The controls conform to Renault’s ‘touch design’ theory, where everything that’s touched feels soft and sensual, and located within easy reach. The Nepta has a BMWiDrive-style multi-media control system, the paddles are designed to melt into the driver’s hands. And the pedals can be re-positioned to provide the optimum driving position.
The Nepta can seat four on those leather bench seats. While they might sound a touch ’50s drive-in movie, the cinema is always on board, thanks to DVD screens with folding protective covers.
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