Spaceman

Connoisseurs will probably never agree who produced the first real space car. Admittedly, Fiat made a serious attempt with the 600 Multipla in the sixties. But the Espace was of a different order. It was not just a passenger van, but a car with a completely flat floor that displayed optimal functionality. And all this within an inviting, light cocoon that can be partitioned very flexibly even into a meeting room.

CONFERENCE

Espace-buyers from the first hour will not have used the conference setup very much, but by making the front seats rotatable, this was one of the possibilities. Furthermore, two chairs in the back and a table in the middle. Top!

CRITICS

It was in the mid-eighties the time that inside and outside merged into each other. Large window surfaces, thin window frames and cheerful, natural colours for the furnishings ensured that the Espace was initially seen as an as yet unfinished concept model. By keeping away customers in the first months after launch, critics within Renault seemed to be right. Nevertheless, brands know that for a completely new concept to be successful, they have to be patient for a while. And that success came. The window agreements that had been made with Matra about the minimum number of copies to be purchased were soon exceeded. So much so, in fact, that the Alpine factory in Diepe had to help out for some time in order to be able to supply sufficient Espaces.

The pages from the leaflet clearly show the 'spacy' character of the Espace. The car almost seems to float like a space probe. It was above all the time of the Space Shuttle and also the French flash train TGV.

TRENDSETTER

Looking back at the first Espace in 1984, it may be concluded that it pays for a car brand like Renault to come up with a bold new concept. The trendsetter was right in this case.