What's the news?
Renault is having another swing at the whole luxury car thing, in spite of the failures over the years of such models as the Safrane, Vel Satis and Avantime. This time though, La Regie is taking a very different tack, and bringing us the idea of a luxury car that's designed to be shared, rather than owned. Égalité et fraternité indeed.
The EZ-Ultimo looks like a proper, mad, concept car. It's long, low and styled to look as if it just wandered in off the set of a Stanley Kubrick film. It's fully electric and, with Level 4 autonomous drive capability, can wander around town all on its lonesome (although Renault does cagily mention that it might need 'dedicated roads' to be fully self-driving).
The idea is that it's a super-luxury saloon that you can hire by the hour or by the day, to swoosh you around in silence and comfort, before it heads off to pick up the next fare.
"As consumer trends change and people are enjoying ride-hailing services more and more, a new paradigm for mobility will emerge. Embodying this revolution, EZ-Ultimo offers a unique luxurious experience aboard a robo-vehicle that can be adapted depending on the service provider," said Laurens van den Acker, SVP Corporate Design. "Inspired by contemporary architecture, and completely integrated in future smart cities, EZ-Ultimo will provide an exclusive experience for all. With autonomous, electric and connected cars, we are entering a new exciting era in automotive design."
When you get to it, the whole side of the Ultimo opens up to let you in, with seats that swivel and slide out to make it easier for you to access the cabin. That cabin is swathed in leather and wood (which you might expect in a luxury car), but also marble (which you probably wouldn't). For privacy, the side of the car is made up of faceted glass, which looks like jewellery, but which also stops people peering in at you.
To make the time spent in the car more pleasant, Renault is also introducing its Augmented Editorial Experience, essentially a Renault streaming service that, in theory, brings the best of the internet, TV and movies into the cabin of the car, building up a dedicated playlist just for you.
Will the EZ-Ultimo ever see actual production? Probably not as it is right now, but clearly Renault is looking towards a future of shared urban mobility, and maybe just with a little twist of French luxury.