Renault SYMBIOZ Concept Teases Electric, Autonomous, Connected Car - Obviously

The only reason we might care more about this one than any of the others is the last major concept car presented by Renault. Called "Trezor" and launched during last year's Paris Motor Show, it was a hauntingly beautiful electric GT with retro-futuristic design and funky red-tinted windows. Or rather "window."

It was a mixture of Mercedes-Benz elegance and Jaguar brashness, all with a touch of French subtlety. It was also never going to enter production, obviously, but at least it gave us hope for Renault's upcoming models.

That hope hasn't been rewarded so far, so almost one year later, we're treated to another concept. The teaser released today by Renault doesn't show much, but if we were to venture a guess, we'd say it's a vehicle similar to the Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion Concept: a one-box design with ample interior room and very little emphasis on driving.

How did we get all that just from the last few inches of the car's side profile? We didn't. It's actually the text that accompanies the image and the clip that's the most revealing. It speaks of the company's "vision of mobility by the year 2030" and how the automobile of the future will be in "permanent interaction with its environment, road network infrastructure and the digital lifestyles of its occupants."

If you read any of the press releases to come out during the last two years or so, you'll be extremely familiar with all this. Electric, autonomous, and connected - all three technologies are predictably touched by the SYMBIOZ, making its exterior and interior design the only MYSTERYZ surrounding the concept.

The concept will be unveiled on Thursday in Frankfurt by a panel of Renault boffins, including Laurens van den Acker, Senior Vice President, Corporate Design. We've singled out van den Acker because he's the one responsible for taking the French manufacturer out of the bad designs pit it was finding itself in at one point and bringing it to the light. We're curious to see if the SYMBIOZ concept is another step in the right direction.