The lifespan of the fifth-generation Renault Espace lasted from 2015 to the beginning of 2023. Shortly after its launch, the Special Programmes department began work on a second body variant: a true Espace coupé. A car that would fit in perfectly with the current fashion for SUV coupes, but was too far ahead of its time in 2015.
Text: Tony Vos - Photos : copyright Renault Design
Renault is about to launch the new Rafale, an SUV coupé based on the same platform as the sixth generation Espace. This car seems to have had a predecessor that never made it out of the Renault Design showroom in Guyancourt. The Espace V Coupé was a project of the Special Programmes department headed by Axel Breun in the second half of 2015. He recalls that the presentation of this car to senior management took place at the beginning of 2016, at the same time as the Talisman Shooting Break, which we had the honour of unveiling in the last issue of Losange Magazine.
Photos: The Renault Espace Coupé has an extremely elegant roofline, which gives the car a certain sportiness. The rear overhang is considerably shorter than that of the normal Espace.
Laurens van den Acker, Chief Design Officer Renault Group: "Renault of course has a history with the Avantime, which was based on the Espace 3. With its one-box design, the Espace V had a unique front end and it was attractive for the design department to create a coupé version with an extremely elegant appearance."
"The silhouette of a coupé version of a people carrier was sportier than that of a regular monospace, a category of vehicle characterised by utility. But drivers don't always want to show that they have lots of children. And so the coupé monospace is a car that is more fun to drive, I would almost say: space is sexy".
Axel is quick to add that the model was milled out of epoxy wood from the so-called Alias data. "The modeller, Frank Julien, was one of the best in his field. His work was crucial because no clay model was made. Under the skin, the basic shape of the car is made in foam. The outer shell is about 10 centimetres thick and made of epoxy wood. This is not real wood. It can easily be sprayed with car paint. The windows and lighting units are made of Plexiglas".
Photo: The Espace Coupé design proposal with small wings by Deyan Denkov.
"Up to the B-pillar the two cars are identical, which was possible because the roof of the normal Espace was not too high. From the B-pillar, the roofline sloped backwards. The doors remained identical, only the rear window frame was different and much lower. In addition, the rear overhang was shortened by 12 or 13 centimetres and the rear window was much more angled. The rear lights and rear bumper were redesigned to create an elegant, sporty look. By using as many elements of the existing Espace as possible, the aim was to "minimise investment".
If you compare the front end of the Espace V and the Espace Coupé, you will see different elements. Laurens: "At Renault Design, we were working on the facelift of the Espace. This usually happens between the third and fourth year of a car's life. This is when a facelift can extend the life of a model. This also means that Renault Design often works on the facelift shortly after the launch of a new model. Back then, the life of a new model was a little longer than it is now and we were lucky enough to be able to wait about a year. That's very useful because that's when we get the first feedback from customers.
At the front of the coupé, C-shaped daytime running lights are cut into the bumper. The underside of the front bumper was also different, with an aluminium wing shape. Lighting units were integrated at the edges.
"There were two reasons why the Espace Coupé did not go into production," recalls Laurens. "The new Espace V made a good start in its first year, but sales did not reach the desired level. If the original version of a car does not reach the target volume, it is difficult to make a positive business case for a derivative. At Renault Design, we work on many projects at the same time. We then look closely at the potential return on investment. At the time, we were working on projects with a better margin.
Axel: "The second reason also came up with the Talisman Shooting Break. The Achilles' heel of special programmes was that after some time it turned out that it was better to develop a derivative version together with the main model rather than as a secondary product. That way you don't have to go through the programme twice. There is much more synergy if you plan from the beginning.”
The general reaction was that people thought it was a beautiful car, but that it came too late. There was a lack of funding to continue the project. There were so many projects running side by side that the design department could hardly keep up. "The planning is much better now," notes Laurens.
Axel: "The Espace Coupé had to compete with other business propositions. A more powerful engine had already been considered to meet the expectations of such a sporty version. The sporty silhouette had a positive effect on aerodynamics and also gave the car a younger look.
Several new projects at Renault included discussions about sliding doors. Laurens: "This discussion has always been there with the people carriers. Renault only fits them to the Kangoo and has done so since the first launch in the second half of the 1990s. Sliding doors affect the design and make some design solutions impossible. The mechanism is heavy, the shoulders cannot be too wide and the sliding door cannot be too thick. Things that contradict the sexy look of the "Espace Coupé".
No work was done on the interior of the Espace Coupé during the design phase. The car was to have five seats. At the same time, a four-seater version of the standard Espace was being developed, with only two seats in the rear, identical in design to the front seats. These were placed further back to allow for more legroom. Laurens van den Acker recalls that such a model was delivered to French President Emmanuel Macron. After that, the option was offered to other customers for a very short time.
Photo: The Renault Espace Coupé has an extremely elegant roofline.
Photo: Design proposal by Jeremy Sommer.
Photo: Ongoing development of the design by Yann Jarsalle.
Several designers worked on the Espace Coupé during the design phase. These included two designers from the Korean studio, Insug Jang and Phoon Kim, as well as Yann Jarsalle, Jo Reeve, Anthony O'Sullivan, Deyan Denkov and Jeremie Sommer. Denkov's design featured small wings on the rear wing just in front of the rear lights. This was to improve the aerodynamics.
Axel: "The design of the Espace Coupé was a mixture of Yann Jarsalle's and Jeremie Sommer's sketches. I ended up working with Jeremie Sommer on the final result because Yann was working on another project at the time. I also remember a meeting with Brabus. They were working on the Twingo GT at the time. Talks were held with them about the possibility of developing a more powerful engine for the Espace. But it didn't go beyond a preliminary discussion.
Photos show the red Espace Coupé on Renault's own 20-inch wheels. However, Renault Design preferred to put the car on 21-inch wheels, but lacked the time and budget to design them. So they tried existing wheels from German tuner Elia. The general opinion was that the Espace Coupé was more elegant than the Avantime, but despite the positive feedback, cost and industrial reasons meant that the model did not make it.
Photo: Yann Jarsalle's Espace Coupé in the computer.
Laurens goes on to explain that there are between three and five design proposals behind each new car. This means that for each designer, the chances of his or her design being developed into a production model are relatively slim.
Compared to the Espace Coupé, the new Renault Rafale has a much longer wheelbase, which is the same as that of the new Espace. As a result, the Rafale offers plenty of space in the back and a considerable amount of luggage space. Spaciousness and sportiness come together, whereas before they seemed to be at odds with each other. Now, with the new Rafale, these characteristics seem to be in perfect harmony.
Laurens: "If we compare the profiles of the Espace Coupé and the Rafale, the differences are also numerous. The Rafale's wheels are much closer to the corners, while the Espace Coupé has a large front overhang. The Rafale has a longer bonnet. In the Espace Coupé, the engine compartment ran under the windscreen, which was further forward.
Incidentally, the Espace Coupé is only referred to in the past tense; after the project was abandoned, the model was no longer produced.
Photo: Two design sketches of the Espace Coupé by Phoon Kim.