Renault’s self-driving car has been quickly on the rise as the new car of the future. Renault aims to be a fully immersive and premium luxury mobility experience, a completely mobile lounge for the modern era. With class, style, and French elegance in its design, this concept car redefines luxury automotive (1).
Revealed at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, this latest concept car unveiled by Renault blow us all away with its sleek design, advanced technology, and new complete autonomy. Many refer to it as the “robo-vehicle”as it completely electric, connected, and provides a new form of travel. It is built for single trips, an hour, or even a day of travel. The goal of the Renault’s self-driving car is not to take you on long road trips, but rather to take you from one place to the next so you don’t have to worry about driving or navigating through traffic, but can use your time to relax, catch up after a meeting, or continue with your busy work schedule completely mobile.
EZ-ULTIMO Style Design
The exterior of the EZ-ULTIMO is completely unlike anything we’ve seen before (2). It’s sleek, minimal, yet unique design is truly one of a kind. It has a two tone bodywork with deep black and minimal green tones on the lower half, with a gold, champagne color on the upper half. The upper part is also made up of a 600 diamond pattern that act as a one way mirror. This adds extra privacy to your trip while still allowing you to take in the scenery as you drive.
The interior of this beautiful machine feels as though you are stepping into a living room. One peak inside and you will see this is not your standard car at all. The EZ-ULTIMO seats up to three people only, adding some extra room for comfort. It is an intimate cocoon cabin style on the interior designed to make passengers feel at home – literally. With its Haussmannian-style interior design, it feels as though you are stepping into a small apartment. The interior is made up of herringbone style wood floors, marble molding, a deep green velvet chair, with a leather bench to set drinks, a laptop, or other items. The ceiling is also made to mimic an apartment as well with carefully crafted wall and ceiling moldings.
It’s also worth mentioning the incredible indoor lighting inside the car. The cabin is illuminated with two lamps in champagne and gold, matching the outside of the car. The lights are low-angled soft lights that allow you comfort and relaxation without overpowering you.
What’s even more intriguing is all of these apartment style furnishing have been designed with top of the line materials and processed in a way to meet the requirements of the auto industry and their safety guidelines. Part of meeting these guidelines is to make the interior pieces thin and lightweight, as not to add any extra unnecessary weight to the vehicle. Overall, the interior space offers sophisticated, luxurious, and personalized interactive content to add to their already extraordinary journey.
In this video, we can take a deeper dive into the structure, beauty, and precision of this elegant French-designed concept car. The doors are unlike anything else, in that they slide out, then to the side. The entire side of the car opens up, allowing for easier entry and exit when getting in and out of the car.
The Goal of the EZ-ULTIMO
Of course, Renault has much to say about the bright future of this self-driving car. Not only is it a pioneer into a revolution of car driving, but it’s doing so with class and luxury leading the way. Director of autonomous vehicle and ADAS development at Renault, Guillaume Eurin, commented that this extremely connected and autonomous luxury car will allow people to choose between driving and being driven, opening up new adventures and scenarios for mobility.
The goal of the French developers at Renault’s is not only to create a super luxury car of the future, but also to give people their time back (3). According to study experts, the average American spends about eight hours and 22 minutes a week in their cars commuting, traveling, and getting from place to place. This adds up to a whopping 18 days per year spent in the car. While it may not seem like a big number, this is still a large amount of our lives spent in cars, navigating traffic. The Renault’s self-driving car aims to give this time back to us. According to Renault, the goal is for passengers to change the experience of riding in a car. Instead, they aim to make it more pleasant, more productive, and overall less stressful. The car includes a “Mind Off” mode which allows passengers to delegate complete control over to the car. With advanced connectivity, passengers can answer their emails, watch videos, and make better use of their time by using in-vehicle features.
So What’s The Plan?
When can we expect to see this concept car in action? Will it ever be available for purchase? The answer is, yes. While the car still has some technologies to add, and kinks to work out, Renault’s Drive The Future strategic plan will be from 2017-2022. By 2022 there will be 15 models available for testing with integrated autonomous driving abilities. Renault’s plan is not to release any model for purchase until the car is completely flawless ensures that the necessary technologies have been implemented to keep the passenger and others on the road completely safe.
Final Words
The Renault’s self-driving car is nothing short of extraordinary. With its beautiful design, sleek exterior, and gorgeous apartment style interior, this car adds class and luxury like never before. With advanced in-vehicle connected systems, integrated technologies, and complete autonomy, this car truly is the pioneer for the future. Allowing drivers the luxury of still driving, or being in complete ‘Mind Off’ mode, this car can and will disrupt the way we travel.
