Renault Frendzy Concept Official Details and Images Released

French manufacturer Renault released a video of its latest electric car concept earlier today, which showed us the company’s vision of a future family friendly car. Just when we thought we had to wait for it to give us more info on the subject until the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show this September, a humongous press statement landed on our desktop.

Accompanied by a set of official images, the press release gave us pretty much all we wanted to know about the Frendzy, a car with dual personality, and we thought it was only fit to share the info with you.

“Frendzy is the must-have vehicle for flexibility and versatility. It is efficient and modern as a work tool, yet sporting and warmly welcoming for the family,” Axel Breun, Design Director, Concept and Show Cars at Renault explained.

On the outside we have just one conventional door and one sliding side door which incorporates a 37-inch widescreen display on the passenger’s side. The driver’s side, complete with side windows, comes with center opening doors. Both sides lack a center pillar. The screen can be used to display useful messages or information (such as “making deliveries” or “back in five minutes”, the battery-charging method or the remaining charge) or advertising messages.

In ‘work’ mode, the rear-view mirrors sit upright and the interior lighting is green; in ‘family’ mode, the mirrors swivel round to the horizontal position and the interior is bathed in a radiant orange ambience. Coloured repeater lights in the headlights and tail lights provide an external indication of the mode in which the car is operating.

Inside we have the same work-family mode game: in the ‘work’ mode the dashboard is lighted green and ties in with the colour displayed on the exterior of the vehicle. In the ‘family’ mode, the green lights turn orange.

We also have a fabric roof that adapts itself to the shape of bulky objects, magnetic fixings that allow the load to be secured to the floor, and modular stowage systems. The single-piece rear seat is integrated into the floor, while the front seat folds forward in order to free up space.

The gadgetry floods the interior: a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is plugged into the dashboard, while sensors located on each door sill log the loading or unloading of packages equipped with RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) chips containing key information such as destination address, weight and dimensions. This gives users a real-time inventory of the goods being carried in their vehicle.

Finally, the icing on the cake are the technical details: powering the Frendzy is a 44kW electric motor developing 226 Nm of torque and capable of reaching a top speed of 130 km/h. The unit is coupled with a direct drive transmission system. The Frendzy concept sits on 19-inch wheels shod with Michelin tires.