The New Renault 5 Will Be Unveiled in Geneva Next to These Crazy Yellow Mobility Vehicles

But this story is not about the Renault 5, but about some other contraptions the carmaker will be bringing to Geneva. They are all meant for the personal mobility industry, they are one-of-a-kind and in some cases, and will probably overshadow the 5, which they are meant to honor, altogether.

All five designs are the result of collabs Renault established with French start-ups, and are meant to showcase one of the planet's natural elements: earth, water, air, and snow.

What that means is we're dealing with a sailboat, a jet ski, a snow scooter, a bicycle, and an electric foil. All of them, naturally, bring something entirely new to the segments they're playing in.

We'll start with the sailboat, made together with a company called Reverso. The contraption is described as the "first folding sailing dinghy" because of its ability to be disassembled into four independent floating parts.

When fully assembled, the boat measures 3.40 by 1.45 meters (11 by 4.7 feet) and weighs almost 17 kilos (37 pounds). In ideal conditions, it can move over the water at speeds of 45 kph (28 mph).

Also designed for use on water is the Searacer jet ski (main photo of this piece). It's not just any jet ski, but supposedly the first electric one of its kind. The thing was shown before, as it won the A' Design Award, and it has the backing of French Grand Prix motorcycle rider Fabio Quartararo.

We're not told much about the electric drivetrain that powers this thing, aside from the fact that we're talking about something unrivaled in performance, and that it is capable of reaching a top speed of 77 kph (48 mph). The battery on the jet ski should be enough for an operation time of two hours.

The first electric snow scooter is something made by a company called Moonbike. Built in the usual style, with a caterpillar track at the back and a ski at the front, the vehicle is perhaps the simplest of its kind in terms of maintenance, as it comes with no chains or belts.

The undisclosed electric powertrain of the Moonbike is capable of giving it a top speed of 40 kph (25 mph), and can keep the scooter in operation for as much as three hours.

The electric plume foil designed by Etienne Monbereau, simple as it may seem, is the result of five years of hard work, and it too is powered by electricity. It allows riders up to 90 minutes of autonomy, and can reach a top speed of 35 kph (22 mph) – the thing takes off at just 15 kph (nine mph).

Last but not least in the lineup of unrelated Renault vehicles the French will be showing in Geneva is the Evol BMX. A bicycle by trade, the two-wheeler is described as the first electric BMX, and it is the result of collaborative work performed by an electric mobility specialist and… an architect.

The bike tips the scales at 13 kg (29 pounds), and moves along impromptu tracks courtesy of a 500 W electric motor. The unit gives the bicycle a top speed of 45 kph (28 mph), while the battery pack should last for as much as 40 km (25 miles).

All of the above vehicles and the Renault 5 will be on display in a stand the carmaker has aptly named R5volution Is a French Thing. They will be accompanied by Renault's other high-profile vehicles, the electric Megane and Scenic, and the hybrid Espace and Rafale.

One other thing worth mentioning about the 5 is that it will mark the launch of something the carmaker is calling an interactive avatar. Called Reno, it's a piece of technology meant to interact with the car's owner and passenger and give them "a completely new experience, not only inside certain Renault electric vehicles, but also outside with my mobile app to be launched very soon.​"

Separately, the French are bringing to Geneva two technologies based on the Ampere project. They are the new AmpR Small platform, on which the 5 is built and which will be used for other cars in the future as well, and a bidirectional charger and optimized battery systems.

For reasons that have nothing to do with its main business, Renault plans to make some money at the Swiss event, and is gearing up to sell stuff on the floor of the event as well. Not cars, but unrelated merch in the form of a football table, a surfboard, a woolen jumper, and an electric scooter called Plume.