To conclude the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Renault 4, the brand has decided to team up with motion design hub TheArsenale to create a futuristic reinterpretation of the iconic model. This new version, AIR4, is the first flying French car. Not a concept nor a joke, AIR4 is a real-life E-VTOL* vehicle.
*Vertical Take Off and Landing
©️Mathieu César
Renault 4L has been around since 1961, and is still today a legend in the French car industry for its iconic design, superb quality, and longevity. It has been in our lives for more than 30 years, the car has been sold in over 100 different countries, with more than 8 million units.
In the past sixty years, a lot has changed in the world, but Renault 4 has been there right along with it, becoming a part of our culture, a part of French history. To celebrate its sixtieth anniversary and allow this iconic car to still be present even after 60 years, Renault, the first car brand in France and TheArsenale have decided to collaborate once more to take R4 into the future.
©️Mathieu César
Fly free. Experience the future of commuting and unleash your inner thrill-seeker with AIR4. A symbol of independence and freedom in carbon-fibre form, it's born of the realization that traffic is compounding, lives are grinding to a halt, but the world above us is clear. The opportunities are endless.
We embrace the notion of nostalgia meeting state-of-the-art technology; a design cocktail which, in the case of the AIR4, has resulted in a truly bespoke reinterpretation of a retro icon with entirely new dynamic capabilities.
©️Lionel Koretzky
"After a year-long of celebration we wanted to create something unconventional to close up the 60th anniversary of 4L. highlights Arnaud Belloni, Renault Brand Global Marketing Director. This collaboration with TheArsenale was a natural fit. The flying showcar AIR4 is something unseen yet and a wink to how this icon could look like in another 60 years."
AIR4 is a revolution in urban mobility. It has no wheels, no problem! Instead, it features four two-blade propellers, one at each corner of the vehicle. The chassis sits in the middle of the rota frame, and the driver can access and take a seat in the utilitarian cabin of the vehicle by lifting the reimagined Renault 4 shell, which is hinged at the front.
©️Lionel Koretzky
From a technical standpoint, AIR4 is powered by 22,000 mAh lithium polymère batteries with a total capacity of 90,000 mAh. The vehicle counts on an orizontal top speed of 26m/s, with a 45° inclination during flights, and up to a maximum inclination of 70°. It can fly as high as 700m with a take off speed of 14m/s, restrained at 4 m/s for safety reasons, and landing velocity of 3 m/s. Last but not least, AIR4 offers a maximum vectoral thrust of 380 kilograms, that is to say 95kg per propeller.
AIR4 has been imagined, designed, engineered and assembled entirely in France, in the heart of Europe’s first technology park in Sophia Antipolis, on the Côte d’Azur.
©️Lionel Koretzky
"I have dedicated my life to the passion for mobility and I continually explore all aspects of the moving world. Says Patrice Meignan, TheArsenale CEO. After 25 years of forward-looking research, we believe that the icons of car culture are eternal, whether on earth or in the air. For 60 years, Renault 4 has been driven by ordinary people who make it extraordinary. It is a car that symbolises adventure: simple, practical, useful and as modern as it is retro. Most drivers will tell you, it allows you to travel differently and to live an adventure. This ‘traveling different’ has inspired my team and I. With AIR4 by TheArsenale, the Renault 4 is ready for one of its greatest adventure yet."
