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Renault Electric Hot Hatch Coming

As we said in other articles, the hot hatch segment is one of the fastest developing areas of the market, with new and more powerful compact monsters coming to the world at an astonishing pace.

Renault is an important player in this segment, offering multiple delicious choices for go-fast enthusiasts. However, it seems like the French automaker is planning to rewrite the rules of the niche.

The company will release an electric hot hatch in the future, as autocar reports. The car will be a beefier incarnation of the Zoe concept, which made its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show and was also present at this year’s Paris Auto Show. The performance version of the Zoe is set to enter our world in 2013.

We have a higher-powered version of the car in mind for slightly later in its life cycle,” Matthieu Tenenbaum, deputy director of Renault Electric Vehicle developments, told the aforementioned source.

At the heart of the car, we will find a powertrain that is based on that used by the Nissan Leaf. However, this will be tuned to deliver a high output. The electric hot hatch is expected to bring 134 hp and over 200 lb-ft (271 Nm) to the game.

The company insisted that the power and torque premium won’t affect the car’s range. It will be extremely interesting to see what engineering tricks Renault will use to back this statement.

There would be little penalty in range when measured on the standard European driving cycle,” the executive told autocar.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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