Yeah the R5 AND the 4L Soon it will be reborn in a modern, and therefore electric, form, the Twingo, already converted from its third and current generation, will have no successor.
But Renault does not intend to leave out one of the most famous faces in its modern history, with the first generation of its city car, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year at the Salon Rétromobile.
The Twingo I will soon be “retrofitable”
At its stand, the diamond brand presents an exuberant Twingo, with lowered suspension, leather and cashmere interior with red glass padding, velvet hood, rims and very striking gold logos, which pays homage to Californian “lowriders”.
A way above all to announce in this format for the less original the future upgrade kit that will be proposed on this model at the end of the year. Clearly, the possibility of turning a first-generation thermal Twingo into an electric one.
Before the Twingo, it was the 4L that inaugurated this partnership with R-Fit, a French SME specializing in retrofitting. And next September, it will be the turn of the R5 to be able to go into zero emission mode.
From the “2CV Méhari Club Cassis” to the “R-Fit”
Behind this R-Fit company there is a name well known to those who follow retrofit news: the 2CV Méhari Club Cassis.
“We are the first French company to have homologated a conversion kit for retrofitting: we homologated the 2CV 6, the 2CV Fourgonnette and there we managed to homologate the 4L, before the R5 and the Twingo”, summarizes Stéphane Wimez, in charge of the company.
It was the association with Renault that prompted the club’s retrofit activity to be grouped under this new name of “R-Fit”: a name change more in keeping with the company’s multi-brand positioning, which continues to specialize in the sale of spare parts. . spare parts for old cars, its main activity.
After asking Stéphane Wimez’s company to adapt the R5 for Renault as part of its association with the Roland Garros tennis tournament, it was natural that the possibility of being able to convert other models of the diamond brand:
“Our project is to convert iconic vintage vehicles into electric ones”, summarizes Stéphane Wimez.
“We started with Citroën because it is our heart brand and because we were relevant to offer this conversion,” he continues. But very quickly, the 4L became obvious, with 8 million copies produced, and was also the sworn enemy of the 2CV, for which was pretty nice establishing the bridge with our first model.
For 11,900 euros, the company can thus convert the 4L. A price that may seem high but that includes the elimination of the elements of the internal combustion engine (engine, ignition, exhaust, etc.) and the installation of the kit (mainly electric motor, battery and charger) that preserves original mechanics. transmission 4 reports. All this with a 2-year warranty on installed parts and 3 years on batteries. The 78 km of electric autonomy can be scary, but “they are vehicles that circulate little in general and with a slow charge at home that adapts well to a relatively limited use of the vehicle”, qualifies Stéphane Wimez.
R-Fit has also just concluded a partnership with the Design 1880 company to retrofit old Fiat 500s, with an offer starting at €18,000.
A sector in full development
Although the creation of the legal framework that authorizes the rehabilitation dates back to 2020, so far few projects have come to fruition. Stéphane Wimez recalls that it is normal for an industrial project of this type to take time to complete, especially in a difficult context, with the covid pandemic, related shortages or even the war in Ukraine.
“There really isn’t a technical problem: in France, companies specializing in retrofitting have rolling mules, specifies Stéphane Wimez. It’s not so much the cost of homologation either: they manage to raise funds to do it. Above all, when you have a homologated kit, it’s necessary to industrialize its production and have a network of installers.
To “move from ‘craft +’ to industry”, this partnership with Renault is proving decisive for the development of the sector, for example, making it easier to obtain the necessary components to assemble conversion kits and at a better price.
In the end, it is the current difficulty in producing these kits in large numbers that is hindering the development of the network.
“We have between 300 and 400 applications from shops to become authorized installers, because all the maintenance/repair specialists are seeing a drop in electrical activity and therefore looking for additional activity. But, since we are not producing enough, slowing down a little bit this network formation, concentrating on this acceleration of kit production.
Stéphane Wimez mentions in particular the birth of a true battery cell production line in Europe to be able to more easily source this essential component for retrofits and for electric cars in general.
Renault also has big ambitions in this field of modernization, having recently partnered with another French company, Tolv, to convert vans, leaving them on their site in Flins (Yvelines) undergoing transformation into a “Re-Factory”.
Source: BFM TV
