Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a tugboat?
Outside, the Avantime looks like nothing else. The front is almost normal, but the back reminds me of the front of a tugboat, with its wrap-around glass.
You can't be a wallflower in an Avantime, and that's just what Renault counts on.
Future classic for less than £10,000
The Matra-built Avantime was an interesting concept - combining MPV accommodation with coupe-like interior and frameless two-door construction. It was built for two years, and a mere 8557 were made, making it something of a commercial failure, and that makes the Avantime perfect candidate for future classic.
Actually, most enthusiasts have already cottoned on to the Avantime, with a small and appreciative cult following building up around it. Ironically, the Avantime's values are already strong compared with contemporary Renaults - you only need to see the number of sub-£1000 Vel Satis cars out there for sale to see why.
The Avantime was introduced for 2001 alongside the aforementioned Vel Satis. Supposedly combining the styling of a 2+2 coupe with the space of minivan, the Avantime concept was conceived by former Renault co-operative Matra, who dabbled in Formula 1 racing while building computers, bicycles, missles, and the Espace van. Matra intended the coupe-van-thing to cater to a younger generation of buyers who, as they saw it, grew up with the Espace and didn't want to grow too far apart from it.
Le Quement handled the styling and came up with a large-butted one-box shape with a pillarless daylight opening, a massive retractable glass roof, and huge doors. It was something that was truly unlike anything ever built before by an automaker, a huge two-door van that was guaranteed to leave onlookers with the most confused look on their faces. No one could figure out if they were looking at a car, a small land-fairing cruise liner, or something sculpted by Picasso turned into a parade float.
Though the design wasn’t without its engineering issues, Renault bested the better part of them with some interesting solutions. For example, the Avantime used a space frame made of strengthened aluminum to retain structural integrity in a side impact collision in spite of the fact there weren’t b-pillars. The huge doors used a clever double-hinged design to keep them manageable in tight parking situations. To keep weight down, the lower body panels were all composite.
Aside from the neat engineering details, the best part of the Avantime was it’s so called “grand air” mode in which all of the windows and the big sunroof were retracted for a very convertible-like experience. The feature was activated with the simple push of a button on the headliner. It was this particular experience that Avantime owners would come to treasure most in their cars.
The entire package came at a hefty cost though. Engineering costs for the Avantime’s double hinged doors and semi-convertible design racked up at a whopping 224€ million back at the turn of the century (about $286 million US dollars then and $358 million today). Those engineering costs would also be passed on to the buyer with the base sticker price starting at 29,000€ (about $37,000 USD then, $46,000 USD today). With a sticker price like that, those young, Espace-loving buyers that the Avantime was supposed to attract couldn’t afford it. Their parents, which could, weren’t interested because of the odd styling and general lack of practicality. The Avantime also faced in-house competition from the Vel Satis, whose appearance looked more conventional in comparison.
Sales of the Avantime totaled up to just 8,557 cars in May 2003, at which point the plug was pulled due to Matra’s decision to leave the automotive market partially due to the money lost developing and building the Avantime and Renault’s growing disinterest for the model. In contrast, sales of the Vel Satis equaled up to 62,201 cars during it's production run from 2001 - 2009 (an average of about 7,000 cars a year).
The Avantime’s polarizing styling and concept coupled with its very costly but clever engineering and poor sales definitely make this one of the most jaw-dropping failures ever in the automotive industry.
Investment rating £££
We’ve all read those stories of barn finds, those dusty hunks of metal that are unearthed from some ramshackle barn and then sold at auction for tens of thousands. And if like me you’ve ever found yourself saying, ‘I used to have one of those, now look what they are worth, I should never have sold it!’ Then maybe you’ve also caught yourself wondering if there are any cars today that will be worth more, not less, money in the future?
The big question is; now that we are in an age of global mass production and platform technology, will any car ever appreciate in value again?
Well I think the answer is yes and whilst I’m not guaranteeing unlimited wealth and fortune in the future, if you have some cash to spend then maybe you should be investing in the Renault Avantime.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a tugboat? The Avantime had an identity crisis from day one and that’s what killed it off, it should only ever have been a concept car. With just two doors its life as a people carrier was always limited, whilst its lack of ground breaking technology meant it never matched up to its futuristic styling. But a decade after its launch the Avantime is getting a new lease of life. Well-kept examples are now pretty sought after.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a tugboat?
Outside, the Avantime looks like nothing else. The front is almost normal, but the back reminds me of the front of a tugboat, with its wrap-around glass.
You can't be a wallflower in an Avantime, and that's just what Renault counts on.
Future classic for less than £10,000
The Matra-built Avantime was an interesting concept - combining MPV accommodation with coupe-like interior and frameless two-door construction. It was built for two years, and a mere 8557 were made, making it something of a commercial failure, and that makes the Avantime perfect candidate for future classic.
Actually, most enthusiasts have already cottoned on to the Avantime, with a small and appreciative cult following building up around it. Ironically, the Avantime's values are already strong compared with contemporary Renaults - you only need to see the number of sub-£1000 Vel Satis cars out there for sale to see why.
The Avantime was introduced for 2001 alongside the aforementioned Vel Satis. Supposedly combining the styling of a 2+2 coupe with the space of minivan, the Avantime concept was conceived by former Renault co-operative Matra, who dabbled in Formula 1 racing while building computers, bicycles, missles, and the Espace van. Matra intended the coupe-van-thing to cater to a younger generation of buyers who, as they saw it, grew up with the Espace and didn't want to grow too far apart from it.
Le Quement handled the styling and came up with a large-butted one-box shape with a pillarless daylight opening, a massive retractable glass roof, and huge doors. It was something that was truly unlike anything ever built before by an automaker, a huge two-door van that was guaranteed to leave onlookers with the most confused look on their faces. No one could figure out if they were looking at a car, a small land-fairing cruise liner, or something sculpted by Picasso turned into a parade float.
Though the design wasn’t without its engineering issues, Renault bested the better part of them with some interesting solutions. For example, the Avantime used a space frame made of strengthened aluminum to retain structural integrity in a side impact collision in spite of the fact there weren’t b-pillars. The huge doors used a clever double-hinged design to keep them manageable in tight parking situations. To keep weight down, the lower body panels were all composite.
Aside from the neat engineering details, the best part of the Avantime was it’s so called “grand air” mode in which all of the windows and the big sunroof were retracted for a very convertible-like experience. The feature was activated with the simple push of a button on the headliner. It was this particular experience that Avantime owners would come to treasure most in their cars.
The entire package came at a hefty cost though. Engineering costs for the Avantime’s double hinged doors and semi-convertible design racked up at a whopping 224€ million back at the turn of the century (about $286 million US dollars then and $358 million today). Those engineering costs would also be passed on to the buyer with the base sticker price starting at 29,000€ (about $37,000 USD then, $46,000 USD today). With a sticker price like that, those young, Espace-loving buyers that the Avantime was supposed to attract couldn’t afford it. Their parents, which could, weren’t interested because of the odd styling and general lack of practicality. The Avantime also faced in-house competition from the Vel Satis, whose appearance looked more conventional in comparison.
Sales of the Avantime totaled up to just 8,557 cars in May 2003, at which point the plug was pulled due to Matra’s decision to leave the automotive market partially due to the money lost developing and building the Avantime and Renault’s growing disinterest for the model. In contrast, sales of the Vel Satis equaled up to 62,201 cars during it's production run from 2001 - 2009 (an average of about 7,000 cars a year).
The Avantime’s polarizing styling and concept coupled with its very costly but clever engineering and poor sales definitely make this one of the most jaw-dropping failures ever in the automotive industry.
Investment rating £££
We’ve all read those stories of barn finds, those dusty hunks of metal that are unearthed from some ramshackle barn and then sold at auction for tens of thousands. And if like me you’ve ever found yourself saying, ‘I used to have one of those, now look what they are worth, I should never have sold it!’ Then maybe you’ve also caught yourself wondering if there are any cars today that will be worth more, not less, money in the future?
The big question is; now that we are in an age of global mass production and platform technology, will any car ever appreciate in value again?
Well I think the answer is yes and whilst I’m not guaranteeing unlimited wealth and fortune in the future, if you have some cash to spend then maybe you should be investing in the Renault Avantime.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a tugboat? The Avantime had an identity crisis from day one and that’s what killed it off, it should only ever have been a concept car. With just two doors its life as a people carrier was always limited, whilst its lack of ground breaking technology meant it never matched up to its futuristic styling. But a decade after its launch the Avantime is getting a new lease of life. Well-kept examples are now pretty sought after.