Renault Frendzy

Renault’s recent concept cars tell a story. After the notion of ‘love at first sight’ expressed by Paris 2010′s stunning DeZir, discovering the world with Captur (Geneva 2011) and starting a family with R-Space, here comes the Frendzy, which represents “the world of work” in Renault’s design strategy. This “human life cycle” series is directed by Laurens van den Acker, Senior VP of Design at Renault and the man behind Mazda’s Nagare design.

The Frendzy concept was conceived as a light commercial vehicle (think Kangoo) that can double up as a comfortable passenger car. On the passenger’s side, there’s no glazing or centre pillar, just one conventional door and one sliding side door which incorporates a widescreen display. This is the world of work. The driver’s side, complete with side windows, still no centre pillar, but with centre opening doors, represents the world of the family.

“The concept of an asymmetric body design was the most logical way to express this vehicle’s two roles. From the very start, I wanted to move away from the traditional format for commercial vehicles and, in doing so, show that this type of vehicle could also be more emotional, more dynamic and more attractive,” said exterior designer Deyan Denkov.

“I took inspiration from a wide variety of sources, including unconventionally shaped aircraft such as the Airbus Beluga and the Antonov 224,” the Bulgarian revealed.

Inside, the Frendzy has a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that controls the 37-inch screen on sliding rear door, unique ‘sound signatures’ inside and out, fabric roof that adapts to shape of bulky objects, magnetic fixings for stuff to be secured to the floor, slate board in rear cabin for children to sketch on, touch-sensitive pad for rear passenger movie watching/gaming and ambient lighting.

The driver’s side of the cockpit is designed around the theme of a futuristic “work bench” featuring a structure which appears to be made from molten metal. The use of wood in the cabin is from the idea of “camping” – it’s a symbol of warmth and strength.

The Frendzy is of course an electric vehicle. The powertrain is carried over from the Kangoo Van Z.E., although the charging point hidden under the front Renault logo is identical to that shown on the ZOE Preview.