Page 22 - Marcello Gandini Maestro of Design Revisited

366rENAuLT X-29 (R25)
REVISITED
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RENAULT
X-29 (R25)
1980
before its time!” commented Christophe Bonnaud in
his book Concept Cars et Prototypes dՃtudes Renault
(BJB Editions).
Gandini’s sharp-edged look lost out to the more rounded
designs from in-house Renault designers Jean-François
Venet and Gaston Juchet. Juchet even proposed a
three-box possibility, although the preference from
Renault’s management was for a big five-door car with
hatchback versatility. The final design was an evolution
of Venet’s model (referred to internally as the Rafale),
which Juchet reworked to the definitive shape.
On its launch on December 19, 1983 (as a 1984-
year model car), the Renault 25 was, in all
respects, a pronounced improvement over the
aging and rather mundane Renault 20 and 30 that it
replaced. Performance was competitive, what with
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the choice of big four-cylinders and V6s, one of which
developed 179 bhp, good enough to match Mercedes-
Benz E-Classes and BMW 5-Series for speed and
grunt. Class leading aerodynamics ensured that fuel
consumption was amongst the lowest in its segment.
A more rigid chassis, matched with independent
suspension on all four corners, gave the car excellent
ride and spritely handling. With its distinctive five-door
bodywork, with a large glass rear hatch Fuego-style,
the 25 was quite different from the German cars, but
more practical, more sensible.
But to achieve such a level of refinement and
sophistication, the design process was relatively long
drawn out, with initial efforts starting some four years
earlier, in 1979. Codenamed internally as the X-29
program, the model was important enough for Renault’s
design chief Robert Opron to call upon external
consultants such as Stile Bertone’s Marcello Gandini.
The lower half of the left side of the mock-up’s body
featured rubbing strips on the flanks in line with the
height of the bumper, which were missing from the
right side. Gandini provided two alternative solutions,
with several subtle differences in the treatment of the
C-pillar and so on. “Gandini’s X-29 offered two different
sides but its wheel arches and its attitude made it a BX
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The full-scale mock-up that Stile Bertone built and
sent to Renault was typically Gandini, featuring a
sharp-edged rakishness in a profile that incorporated
a deep fastback hatchback, defined by triangular
quarter glasses on the flanks to create a ‘three-piece’
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glass section that gave good rearward visibility. Wheel
arches were squared out for the front pair, with the rear
set asymmetrical.
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