renault filante record 2025 demo car has a hammock driver’s seat

renault unveils filante record 2025 electric demo car

Renault introduces Filante Record 2025, an electric demo car that has a hammock-styled driver’s seat made of stretched canvas. The concept vehicle is on show at the Rétromobile motor show in Paris from February 5th to 9th, 2025. It draws inspiration from the car manufacturer’s historic single-seater vehicles with narrow chassis. These include the 40 CV des Records (1925-1926), Nervasport des Records (1934), and Etoile Filante (1956). In a way, the Renault Filante Record 2025 pays tribute to these vehicles and modernizes them with new technologies and designs.

The company aims to study the electric demo car so that it can inform their future production vehicles. For its interior, the vehicle draws from the worlds of aviation and space travel. The driver feels like they’re sitting in a hammock with their bent legs and back dipped into the stretched canvas. Like the swing, the seat adapts to the shape of their bodies. There are thin carbon blades wrapped in textile supporting the seat, the same approach used by the aerospace industries. The driving components, such as the cruise control, accelerator, and braking, are all within their hands’ reach. In front of them, they see the driving information on an ultra-thin digital screen.

all images courtesy of Renault

Steering wheel with handles and screen inside a cylinder

The steering wheel of the Renault Filante Record 2025 demo car is futuristic. It’s not the typical rounded or boxy wheel. It only has two handles protruding on both sides. They control the acceleration, braking, and steering functions using fully electronic steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire technologies. The wheel emerges using a 3D-printed structure made of Scalmolloy. At the center of it, there’s a flexible panoramic screen wrapped around a cylinder. Because of its transparency levels, it can display the driving data, such as the speed, range, and other parameters.

The car manufacturer attaches the steering wheel to the protective bubble of the cockpit. This raises it upwards when the driver opens the car door, so they can easily get in and out of the vehicle. The position of the driver’s legs is also over the batteries for space-saving purposes. Renault uses carbon fiber for the Filante Record 2025 demo car to reduce its overall weight. Their plan is to bring the vehicle’s load to under 1,000 kilos only. For the chassis, Renault eyes a combination of aluminum, carbon, and steel alloys for the structural parts. The engineering team also adopts Scalmalloy, a high-strength aluminum alloy designed for 3D printing, for other complex pieces.

Renault introduces its electric demo car Filante Record 2025

steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire technologies

Two of the Renault Filante Record 2025 technologies include the steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire. For the former, the engineering team relies on an electronic link between the steering wheel and steering rack motors. This means that when the driver turns the wheel, there are electrical signals sent to the central unit. Then, it determines the best way to turn the car. The front wheels aren’t the only ones moving, but the engine, brakes, and suspension as well.

For the former, the brake-by-wire technology, the demo car doesn’t have the typical pedal assembly. Instead, the vehicle brakes or has a stopping power managed by an electronic control system. In this way, when the driver tries to stop the demo car, the braking system receives an electric signal. It then distributes the force across the entire wheels and not just parts of the tires. While there’s no news yet on the production for the Renault Filante Record 2025 demo car, the engineering team plans to carry out wind tunnel tests for the vehicle starting Spring 2025.

it has a long chassis and a single seat