Renault 8 Gordini Concept: taking a rear-wheel drive icon into the electric era

An exceptional living heritage
Renault 8 Gordini Concept is not just a tribute to an icon of French motorsport. It also shows how Renault is keeping its heritage alive. In recent years, the brand has rebooted some of its most iconic models with unique designs that foster a dialogue between past and future.

Renault 8 Gordini Concept is part of this approach. This concept car is set to become part of the brand’s history and heritage, taking up a position alongside the historic models, archive material and artworks that will be brought together at the future Renault Collections museum in Flins, set to open to the general public in around 15 months’ time.

An icon as a model
Launched in 1964, Renault 8 Gordini featured a 95 hp rear-mounted engine and rear-wheel-drive layout. Delivering real racing performance, but requiring advanced driving skills, it was an efficient but demanding drive. Renault 8 Gordini (“la Gorde”) was a superb “training car” for a generation of drivers, including Jean Ragnotti.

By giving the Gordini name to a sporty version of a production model, Renault made advanced performance affordable a decade before the GTI phenomenon took off. The hallmark double white stripe became iconic.

As part of a similar approach, Renault is now revisiting this iconic model with an exploratory project, for the delight of motoring enthusiasts everywhere.

Design made in Renault
Unlike the R17 show car, which was based on a collaboration between well-known designer Ora Ito and the brand’s design teams, Renault 8 Gordini Concept is 100% Renault in its design.

The project began with an in-house competition at Renault Design, which generated a huge wave of enthusiasm. Over 300 sketches were spontaneously submitted by brand designers. Every avenue was explored: from classic retro to futuristic styling, concepts fusing heritage with modern edge, or GT-inspired looks. From these 300 or so proposals, two projects were selected for development as 2:5 scale mock-ups. This made it possible to compare the two and create a new blueprint, bringing together the best of each one.

Racing proportions
Renault 8 Gordini Concept is 4.12m long, 1.88m wide and 1.27m tall, with particularly compact and dynamic proportions. Shod with 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear, it sits squarely on the road, much like today’s rally cars. This two-door coupé is far more dynamic than the original four-door model, with an aggressive prow, accentuated by the V-shaped design, and six headlights.

The rear end is wide, muscular and strongly sculpted, hinting at the rear-mounted engine and rear-wheel-drive layout that characterised the original model. The difference today is that the vehicle is powered by a 270 hp electric motor. Further underlining the performance of this concept-car, the rear end features a slight rake, absent from the original model.

“We updated the distinctive styling of the original Renault 8, which was virtually symmetrical from front to rear, to give it a more dynamic look. With the flowing cabin lines, wide track, prominent wings and wheels of 19 inches at the front and 20 inches at the rear, it appears to hug the road. The decision to make the rear wheels larger creates a visual sense of momentum: a nod to the rear layout that was the hallmark of the hugely enjoyable ride delivered by the original.”
Alexandre Malval, VP Design, Renault

“Café racer” spirit
The Renault 8 Gordini concept car is part of the “café racer” trend, currently popular in the world of custom motorbikes. The idea is to modernise vintage motorbikes by stripping out non-essential features and maximising the raw beauty of the materials and mechanical parts. This approach was already adopted for the design of Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

On Renault 8 Gordini Concept, this approach involves removing the unnecessary, even for the retro trim pieces fitted as nods to the design of the original Renault 8 Gordini. For example, the former chrome side moulding is now integrated directly with the bodywork. Taking the form of a feature line, it creates a sense of tension that seems to emanate from within the body.

Further, many split lines have been removed in order to enhance the vehicle’s clean, sculpted shape. For example, the front end has no shut line for the bonnet, which can be removed in one piece, just like on some racing cars.

A game of references
While the concept car bears little resemblance to its forerunner in terms of proportions, many design features and hallmarks have been carried over in a modernised form.

Inspired by the 1964 Renault 8 Gordini, the lettering of the Gordini name has been finely reworked and now features the striations of the original badge. This distinctive signature is accompanied by a new “8” emblem, made up of eight segments. All these features reflect an emphasis on detail and sophistication, while also bringing to mind the design of machined parts from the original era.

Last, as a nod to the diamond logo that adorned the front of its forerunner, a crest paying tribute to the iconic “Gorde” can be seen inside the vehicle as a nod to enthusiasts.

The recessed embossing along the waistline – a signature design feature of the original – has been carried over for this modernised version, but it now serves a practical purpose in directing the airflow towards a new air vent.

The rectangular shape of the wheel arches has also been replicated to give the profile a more muscular look.

The front end, which has no grille, continues to slice through the air with its bevelled prow while the additional headlights from the rally version are now integrated to form a global lighting signature with six round headlamps in the same layout.

Other nods to the original include the shell-shaped wing mirrors and grille spanning the full width of the bonnet at the base of the windscreen. Similarly, the rear ventilation grille has also been maintained for its aesthetic appeal, as well as playing a functional role.

“Renault 8 Gordini Concept revisits the original headlights, amongst other features, as part of a highly graphic approach. At the front, the six round 3D headlights are set in the bodywork, while at the rear, the lights are perfectly flush. So much so that they are barely visible when switched off. This design enhances the car’s iconic signature.”
Alexandre Malval, VP Design, Renault

“The squared-off wheel arches inherited from the original Renault 8 Gordini emphasise the muscular lines of the rear wing.”
Kévin Goncalves, exterior designer

“The colour of the concept car was inspired by Bleu de France, the signature colour of the original Renault 8 Gordini. This modern reboot is based on a construction in three layers, combining mother-of-pearl with a blue-tinted binder for greater depth and richness. Under the light, the historic shade of blue can be glimpsed along the edges, revealing in full the sculpted lines of the bodywork.”
Thomas Altet, colour and materials designer

The double white stripe for a guide
Originally a decorative feature applied to the bodywork, the signature Gordini double white stripe has become a structural component on Renault 8 Gordini Concept. A number of features are now aligned with the stripe, including the grille at the base of the windscreen and the illuminated graphic pattern inside the rear lights.

The double stripe even extends into the passenger compartment, continuing across the top of the dashboard, with the colour changing from white to blue.

“These are not simply decorative strips applied to a surface, but structural components that coordinate the design.”
Kévin Goncalves, exterior designer

A chic interior of clean lines
The interior design of Renault 8 Gordini Concept revisits the original with a much bolder aesthetic. While the dashboard visor still runs the width of the cabin, the dashboard itself takes the form of a horizontal brushed aluminium strip, providing a mount for the round dials whose thick bezels echo the 3D design of the headlights.

In keeping with the “café racer” aesthetic, plastic materials are replaced by brushed aluminium, used for the controls and on large surface areas, creating a contrast with the sections upholstered in Alcantara®.

This minimalist design leaves little or nothing to distract the driver. The focus is clearly on driving. The only feature that catches the eye is the red dot on the stopwatch button in the centre of the dashboard.

The top-stitching running across the door panels with their Alcantara®-trim brings to mind the kerbs of a racetrack, while the indispensable bucket seats offer a graphic nod to the seats of their forerunner. The centre of the seat and backrest are upholstered in blue corduroy, forming a contrast with the other parts of the black bucket seat, and bringing to mind the old seats that were flat with no headrests.

Note that the carbon used for the bodywork does not appear in the passenger compartment. The round dials, which appear to float above the brushed aluminium dashboard, are digital displays, giving the cabin a high-tech feel, in the same way as the indirect ambient lighting under the dashboard.

“We drew inspiration from the original Renault 8 dashboard, taking its iconic design cues and reinterpreting them for today. The traditional metal panel with its circular dials has been repositioned horizontally to support and showcase a series of perfectly aligned round screens. The result is a design that feels both more modern and more elegant, while maintaining a clear link to the past. The entire interior and instrument cluster sit beneath a fluid, wraparound beltline, creating a sense of purity and providing the driver with a perfectly unobstructed field of vision.”
Stéphane Maiore, Renault interior design director

“We limited the number of parts inside the cabin, meticulously crafting each one with understated lines. They are part of both the structure and the trim. Nothing is superfluous.”
Robin Biondi, interior designer

Amédée Gordini: wizardry at work
A true mechanical wizard, Amédée Gordini first teamed up with Renault in 1957 for the Dauphine Gordini, increasing engine output from 32 hp to 37 hp. The start of a success story. Next came the iconic Renault 8 Gordini, earning the double white stripe its place in the racing hall of fame. Amédée Gordini owed the nickname of “the wizard” to his ability to turn even the humblest of engines into a true thoroughbred. No need to bother with a drawing board. He would simply stand next to the milling machine operator and tell him what to do, explaining how to cut specific parts directly from the block. Afterwards, he would give the finished part to the draughtsman so that he could draw up the plan. Pure wizardry for any self-respecting engineer.