(18 Jan 04)

Following on from the Dataspace design study displayed in 2001 as an idea for VIP transport, Renault has come up with another concept car based on the Trafic van.

Trafic Deck’up targets "outdoor leisure and adventure off the beaten track", and it‘s another stage in a Renault programme which started with the Kangoo Break‘up unveiled at the 2002 Paris Show.

Although its front-end styling is the same as the van’s, the double cab Deck’up is 21mm wider and 180mm shorter - in fact, the rear overhang has been reduced by a full 200mm. The "adventure" element shows up in the high ground clearance and the fact that the 2.5-litre dCi turbo diesel engine gets its power down via permanent four-wheel drive.

Like the Kangoo Break’up, the new concept car can be run with a pickup rear. That area is separated from the passenger cabin by glass shutters which can be slid away into the roof, leaving an open platform from which somebody like a safari photographer could get a 360-degree view.

The two rear seats can be swivelled round and slid on Espace-type rails to positions in the pickup section, where there are two additional foldaway seats.

No sign of what, if any, features of the Deck’up will make it to production status, but with Patrick le Quément’s design team it’s unwise to speculate that none of them will.

Back to News index