Renault has a good retro taste. The brand comes with an electric, modern interpretation of the R5 and there have been rumors that the predecessor of the primal R5 will also get a modern successor. Techzle has found patent drawings of a ‘reborn R4’ from the database of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
A few days before Renault revealed its future plan for Renaulution and the 5 Prototype, rumors surfaced about possible spiritual successors to the R4 and R5. The Renault 5 Prototype that was lifted to the podium was a concrete preview of an electric ‘R5’ that should be launched around 2025 and will replace the Zoe by then. However, it remained silent for a long time about the arrival of a design-technically somewhat inspired model on the R4. Techzle, however, has a few patent plates on which a study model with design influences from the Renault 4 can be seen.
Renault 4 (1967)
These patent plates show a concept car of which not only the silhouette, but also the design of the front and rear is inspired by that of the R4. The fact that the car has to do without side mirrors and handles on the digital drawings indicates that it is a study model. Although the study model clearly has some R4 influences, it is not just an R4 in a modern guise. The photos show a car that is clearly a crossover with its angular and black plastic covered wheel arches. In addition, unlike the Renault 4, the car does not have a third side window. Instead, a grid-like panel in the C-pillar has been incorporated. It does have a kind of mask in its muzzle in which the headlights are housed. Indeed, just like the original. The rear lights are a lot higher in the rear than on the primal R4, although the units themselves are quite narrow and vertically oriented. Also, the silver vertical sections in the front and rear bumpers are clear references to the Renault’s steel bumpers that inspired it.
It is not yet officially known what this very likely electrical spiritual successor to the R4 will be called. However, we found something interesting in the database of the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Renault filed a patent for the Renault 4Ever name in October 2020. It could just be that the French keep that name for the study model and perhaps also for the final production version. The R4 may function as an electric crossover alternative for the Renault 5 to be released around 2025. In March, a special variant of the new Renault logo appeared, containing the number ‘4’. It is certain that something is bubbling at Renault at R4 level. By the way, Renault already showed an electric version of the primal R4 Plein Air in mid-2019, a cut-open classic in the style of the Fiat 500 Jolly that was christened e-Plein Air.