- The Renault 4 Savane 4×4 gets a dual-motor powertrain and cool looks.
- It’s a concept, but it shows that Renault’s small EV platform can handle AWD.
Rivian made a big splash when it surprised everybody with the R3X during the R2’s launch event last year. It’s a relatively compact all-wheel drive hatchback with looks that bring back memories of legendary names like the Lancia Delta Integrale and first-generation Volkswagen Golf.
French automaker Renault also knows a thing or two about nostalgia. It’s bringing back the iconic Renault 5 as an EV, and now it has dialed things up to eleven with the Renault 4 Savane 4×4 concept.
Photo by: Renault
It’s based on the road-going, front-wheel drive Renault 4, which is a subcompact electric crossover based on the same underpinnings as the Renault 5. The name Savane was used on the original R4 back in the 1970s, so there’s a lot of history here. However, the original Renault 4 Savane was merely a trim level, while the modern version has more to it.
The biggest thing about the electric concept is that it has an extra electric motor at the rear, making it all-wheel drive. The front and rear tracks have been widened by 0.4 inches (10 millimeters), and there’s a chunkier exterior look thanks to redesigned bumpers and black wheel arches. The roof is covered in a printed fabric that’s supposed to have “a concealment effect,” and the ground clearance is also 0.6 inches (15 mm) higher.
In other words, it looks cool, but don’t expect it to get to the top of the trails in Moab. But that’s fine, because Renault says the car was designed for the modern-day gentleman explorer who values go-anywhere looks.
Inside, the Renault 4 Savane 4×4 concept has seats covered in Deep Brown refined textile fabric with quilted patterns of the number four. There’s also a backlit 4Savane logo on the dashboard, but other than that, it’s the same as the production Renault 4 crossover.
Renault didn’t say how much power the AWD concept puts down, but it should be more than what the front-driven versions offer. For reference, the road-going Renault 4 has an output of 148 horsepower (110 kilowatts) and 181 pound-feet (245 Newton-meters) of torque. The concept’s battery is also a mystery, but logic dictates that it might be a 52-kilowatt-hour pack, just like in the long-range versions of the regular Renault 4.
This isn’t Renault’s first off-road-oriented concept based on the new 4. Back in 2022, the French automaker revealed the outlandish 4ever Trophy Concept, which, despite its looks, had just 138 horsepower from a front-mounted electric motor.
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Source: Renault