Renault has marked the 60th anniversary of the classic 4 sedan with a flying project that imagines how the icon might look in another 60 years. Designed in conjunction with motion specialists TheArsenale, the AIR4 refashions the Renault 4 as a powerful drone beautifully finished from carbon fiber.
It’s no secret that Renault is bringing
back the 4, which shifted more than 8 million units between 1962 and 1991. But
don’t go getting your hopes up that it will fly. About the only thing the AIR4
will share with the upcoming Renault 4 car is that both are powered by
batteries. The AIR4 swaps skinny steel wheels for four two-blade propellors,
the body being mounted ion the middle of the frame, and hinging forward to give
the driver (pilot?) access to the cabin.
And instead of a wheezy pushrod
four-cylinder engine there’s a 22,000 mAh lithium battery developing 90,000
mAh, which is enough for a top speed of 26 m/s. That equates to 58 mph, which,
when you think abut it, isn’t that much slower than the 75 mph you might hope
to coax from an original Renault 4 on the ground. Peak altitude is 700 m and Renault says each of the four propellers is capable of generating 95 kg of vertical thrust.
In keeping with the original, the interior
is definitely of the no-frills kind, seating consisting of what looks like a
park bench upholstered with webbing straps, and the dashboard consisting of a
simple centrally located digital display.
