If you want a showcase full of French quirkiness in your living room, this is your chance
- Renault is auctioning dozens of design mockups on December 7 near Paris.
- The list includes scale models of concepts from the late 1950s until the 2010s.
- Most of them are 1/5th scale, with highly detailed exteriors and interiors.
Fans and collectors of French vehicles rejoice: Renault is running the equivalent of a garage sale, parting ways with dozens of scale models created in its design studios.
The auction, curated by Artcurial Motorcars, is scheduled for December 7 in France and will also include several full-size racecars, concepts, and production models.
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Scale models play a vital role in the design development as they allow designers to evaluate the proposals before moving on to the full-size clay model and static prototypes.
The majority of the vehicles featured in this sale are 1/5 scale models made of composite materials. This is the preferred size for professional design models as it is large enough for fine details and compact enough to be easily transported (and stored).
Flora Ferreira / Arcurial
The auction includes around 40 wind tunnel and design mockups, spanning from the late 1950s to the early 2010s. Some of the earlier examples include a “berline” design study from the late ’50s, a coupe from the late ’60s, and mid-engined sports car from 1973 that never made it to production.
Fan favorites such as the 1968 R4L, the 1971 Alpine A110, and the 1992 Renault Twingo are also present.
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The 1988 Megane concept was a luxurious V6-powered forward-thinking sedan featuring mirror-replacing cameras and adaptive suspension. Then there is the 1997 Pangea concept that previewed the original Kangoo LCV with a hybrid LPG powertrain and a fancy trailer that acted as a power source.
Another cool member of the lineup is the Renault Reinastella, an imaginary flying car created in 1992 for the year 2328.
Flora Ferreira / Arcurial
More recent concepts include the 2001 Talisman, a four-seater coupe with massive gullwing doors and a V8 engine which is totally unrelated to the sedan with the same name.
This is joined by the Ellypse minivan, the Wind roadster, the Egeus SUV, the Fluence and Fluence Z.E. sedans, and ZOE Z.E. hatchback rounding up the French automaker’s 2000s era.
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The most recent offering is the 2011 Captur concept, one of the first to showcase the curvy styling language created under the guidance of Laurens van den Acker. This was later applied to the entire production lineup, including the first generation of the Captur subcompact SUV that followed in 2013.
Flora Ferreira / Arcurial
Finally, we should also mention a cutaway model of a 1957-58 Cargo Liberty ship that carries no less than 90 Norev Dauphine microcars, and a 1/20th scale model of the 1959 Renault Panoramic Autorail Type 5150 train that operated in the Alps and the French Riviera.
So How Much Will They Fetch?
Most of the listings have an estimated value of €1,000-2,000 ($1,200-2,300), but in some cases the number increases to €5,000 ($5,800) or even €10,000 ($11,600).
This means that certain scale models could outprice some of the full-size concepts from the same auction that have an estimate between €4,000-6,000 ($4,600-7,000).
Flora Ferreira / Arcurial
Besides the roadcars, Renault is also selling 1/5th and 1/8th scale models of single-seater racecars from 1981, 1982, 1985, 1990, 1992 (Nigel Mansell), 1993 (Damon Hill), 2005 (Fernando Alonso), and 2019 (Daniel Ricciardo). Those were created as exhibition models and are estimated to fetch between €1,000-10,000 ($1,200-5,800) based on rarity and desirability.
If you want a more detailed listing of all the available models you can visit the auction’s official website here.
Flora Ferreira / Arcurial
According to Renault, all the models on sale exist in “several examples” in their collection, which explains why they wanted to clear up some room.
The automaker plans on opening a new brand heritage showcase in Flins-sur-Seine near Paris in 2027, where visitors will be able to check out past icons from up close.
Flora Ferreira / Arcurial
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