Was the Avantime ahead of its time? Renault announced this week that it was discontinuing production of the quirky car.
Was the Avantime ahead of its time? Renault announced this week that it was discontinuing production of the quirky car.
reported that Renault was scrapping the Avantime after Matra, the company that assembled the car, decided to stop production after calling it a “commercial flop”. The French manufacturer said it would be too expensive to continue production itself.
The distinctive Avantime coupe features an all-glass roof, which is lowered at the press of a button. The roof is made entirely from strengthened heat-reflecting glass. It has a raised driving position that gives good visibility.
Renault used styling cues from the Avantime for the Megane II and new Scenic. Analysts told that the axing of Avantime was a bad sign and cast doubt on the vehicles that followed its styling.
But Renault said this was not the case. “It is a regret, a sadness, but it calls nothing into question regarding Renault’s strategy,” Renault chairman Louis Schweitzer said at the Geneva motor show. “The design was a positive factor, just as it is a positive factor for the Megane,” he said.
Renault said that orders were still streaming in for the Megane II since it was launched last September. They have received 130 000 orders so far.
Do you think the Avantime was too radical?