The Renault 5
It’s probably been a while since anyone has mentioned the Renault 5 but there’s no time like the present to give credit where credit is due. Indeed, some of you may not know what the Renault 5 is but rest assured this little car played a big part in changing automotive design.
Fact is, many pundits feel that the Renault 5 deserves more appreciation for a small design detail that has become a common sight on modern cars. Truth is, you probably haven’t even noticed it so allow us to explain in a little more detail.
Designing The Renault 5
The Renault 5 may not be everyone’s cup of tea but those who owned one loved it. Michel Boué’s design showed promise and impressed in several ways but none more important than bumpers. That’s right, the Renault 5 was one of the first cars to use moulded plastic bumpers but it’s not the materials that make them a significant design feature.
What makes the Renault 5 so remarkable is that those bumpers were designed to form the front lower part of the front wheel arches and the trailing edge of the rear wheel arches. Compared to most cars of that era, such as the Volkswagen Polo, the wheel arches were made from metal in the usual bodywork with fitted bumpers. This was the norm from around 1972 into the 1980s.
Forging The Path For Automotive Design
It might be hard to believe but by the 1990s things were changing in a big way. By that, we mean nearly every car was becoming more like the Renault 5 in one specific way. Among others, Honda, Ford and VW were all using the same method of construction. All of their cars from the 1990s had moulded plastics in the lower parts of the front and rear wheel arches, with many, now sporting body-coloured bumpers.
Of course, the revolutionary Renault 5 bumper design is not limited to small, budget cars. You can now see it on almost every car on the road today, from a BMW and Mercedes to Audi and Aston Martin.
It seems to be the standard practice of most modern automakers and, as far as we know, the little Renault 5 was at the genesis of it all. Some say it was the first car produced in real quantities to have created such a clever design concept.
Considering the stunning exterior design of many cars today, we should take our hats off in respect to the ingenuity and creativity of the people behind the Renault 5. It was also a popular choice in America but they called it the “Le Car” which was AMC French for “the Renault”.
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