“People ask me ‘why don’t you do a Modus?’,” said van den Acker. “If you want a Modus, they are still available. Buy yourself a used one.”
Reviving a historic model is a difficult process, he explained, and to be successful, these retro creations must hold universal appeal, rather than just speaking to enthusiasts.
“These are difficult cars in the sense that they are right or wrong: either they hit the bullseye or they don’t.
“You need to capture what’s in the collective memory, of what comes up in your mind when you think about the Renault 4 or 5. It’s a tricky job, but ironically and surprisingly, when we tested the cars in market clinics, people looked at the 5 and they said it looked futuristic.”
Renault’s aim with the 4, 5 and Twingo is to cultivate appeal even across an audience that doesn’t remember the original models and for whom the names have limited significance.
“You can like it even if you don’t know the original car exactly,” he said of the 5. “The way it drives, the big wheels… It’s kind of a concept car made real, let’s be honest.
“For those who remember it, we’ve given them all the stuff to love, and for those who couldn’t care less, it’s just a nice car.”