A very rare Renault Avantime at 51°30'53.6"N 0°10'27.6"W
January-2021
The Renault Avantime was an MPV from the French car manufacturer Renault , designed and built by Matra in Romorantin . The Avantime came onto the market in August 2001 , but sales were disappointing and production was stopped in March 2003 . A total of only 8557 units were built.
The Avantime was an unconventional design by the car manufacturer Matra, closely associated with Renault, which became known for its sports cars and the development of one of the first European MPVs with Chrysler Europe . Matra initially built the Renault Espace for Renault. When production of its successor, the Espace 4, was moved to another factory, Matra was allowed to design an MPV for Renault in the higher market segment, based on the Espace 3. That became the Avantime, a contraction of avant (forward). en time ( English for time , in other words: ahead of its time), pronounced avantaim and not avantiem . The prototype was shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show . The Avantime went into production two years later. Almost at the same time, Renault also launched the Vel Satis , in fact a competitor to the Avantime. The Avantime sold particularly poorly and production proved to be far from cost-covering for Matra in December 2002. Partly as a result of this, Matra ceased car production in March 2003. Because moving production to another factory would be too expensive, Renault decided to stop building the Avantime.
The design came from Patrick le Quément , who had designed the Renault Twingo . In addition to the special line of the body, the model was characterized by the light roof with a glass part of one square meter; the largest glass roof ever used in a car. [source?] In addition, the center pillars in the side windows are missing, giving the impression of a coupe. The Avantime had only two doors, which were so large that the rear seats were easily accessible. The extra-long doors were hung in a special way so that they could be opened in relatively narrow spaces such as a parking garage.
There is a theory that the Avantime was mainly produced to pave the way for Renault's more important models, such as the second edition of the Mégane and the Vel Satis. These models, especially the first, are much more important to Renault than the Avantime. The Avantime would have served to get the public used to the new Renault design. The similarity between the back of the Avantime and Mégane 2 is particularly striking, although this is not surprising, because these models were all drawn by Patrick le Quément
January-2021
The Renault Avantime was an MPV from the French car manufacturer Renault , designed and built by Matra in Romorantin . The Avantime came onto the market in August 2001 , but sales were disappointing and production was stopped in March 2003 . A total of only 8557 units were built.
The Avantime was an unconventional design by the car manufacturer Matra, closely associated with Renault, which became known for its sports cars and the development of one of the first European MPVs with Chrysler Europe . Matra initially built the Renault Espace for Renault. When production of its successor, the Espace 4, was moved to another factory, Matra was allowed to design an MPV for Renault in the higher market segment, based on the Espace 3. That became the Avantime, a contraction of avant (forward). en time ( English for time , in other words: ahead of its time), pronounced avantaim and not avantiem . The prototype was shown at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show . The Avantime went into production two years later. Almost at the same time, Renault also launched the Vel Satis , in fact a competitor to the Avantime. The Avantime sold particularly poorly and production proved to be far from cost-covering for Matra in December 2002. Partly as a result of this, Matra ceased car production in March 2003. Because moving production to another factory would be too expensive, Renault decided to stop building the Avantime.
The design came from Patrick le Quément , who had designed the Renault Twingo . In addition to the special line of the body, the model was characterized by the light roof with a glass part of one square meter; the largest glass roof ever used in a car. [source?] In addition, the center pillars in the side windows are missing, giving the impression of a coupe. The Avantime had only two doors, which were so large that the rear seats were easily accessible. The extra-long doors were hung in a special way so that they could be opened in relatively narrow spaces such as a parking garage.
There is a theory that the Avantime was mainly produced to pave the way for Renault's more important models, such as the second edition of the Mégane and the Vel Satis. These models, especially the first, are much more important to Renault than the Avantime. The Avantime would have served to get the public used to the new Renault design. The similarity between the back of the Avantime and Mégane 2 is particularly striking, although this is not surprising, because these models were all drawn by Patrick le Quément
Vehicle - Cars and Trucks, Land - Cars Links: en.wikipedia.org
By: DylanFrom_Belgium
