Renault lifts wraps off Paris show car

It has showed off its all-electric DeZir gull-wing supercar ahead of this year's Paris Motor Show.  With Mercedes-Benz already well advanced on an electric SLS and customers lining up for the Porsche 918, the DeZir is in good company. Although just a concept at this stage the two-seater coupe will lay the foundations of the future styling cues of other Renault production cars.

The DeZir project is being led by design head Laurens van den Acker.  It will be one of a sequence of concept cars that will provide an insight into Renault Design's new vision for the future.

The "Z'' in the name DeZir refers to Renault's zero-emission signature.  The light-weight Kevlar coupe's recessed, linear styling of the front air intake and the entire rear-end not only convey an impression of lightness but have an important function as well.

The front intake design efficiently channels cooling air for the batteries, which are located in the car's mid-section.  The car's front-end design also previews a new front-end identity that is poised to become a feature of all Renault models in the future.

The electric motor is mounted in the car's mid-rear position for better weight distribution over the 21-inch front and rear wheels.  The vertically-mounted 24kW lithium-ion battery is located behind the benchseat and provides the car with a range of 160km/h.

The engine develops 110kW/226Nm, which gives the car a top speed of 180km/h and zero to 100km/h sprint time of 5 seconds.  "DeZir is a statement of our new formal design language which conveys notions such as movement, sensuality and emotion through ideal proportions, in much the same way as an object whose forms have been honed by nature, Renault's head of concept cars, Axel Breun, says.

The car has three different battery-charging methods.  A standard charge facility using a conventional household plug takes eight hours.

There is also a 20-minute fast charging option or a fast batter exchange thanks to Renault's Quick Drop technology.  It also uses Formula 1 KERS kinetic energy recovery technology.  When the car decelerates, kinetic energy is recovered and stored in the battery.

The driver can then use this energy for a temporary power boost via a button located on the steering wheel.  Apart from the Kevlar body, the car uses a tubular steel frame is similar to that employed for the Megane Trophy race car.

The double wishbone suspension is also shared with the Megane Trophy.  DeZirs aerodynamics have been carefully honed, too, thanks to full underbody fairing and a rear diffuser.  The car has a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.25.