2002 Renault Avantime 'Privilege'

For sale by auction on Saturday 06 June 2015 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
Renault wowed the crowds and the motoring press with their 2+2
Coupe GT MPV concept when they revealed their Matra inspired
styling exercise at the Paris Motor Show in 1998. The concept by
Patrick Le Quement was boldly taken into production largely
unchanged. Featuring design ahead of its time the Avantime (French
word "Avant" meaning "ahead" with English word "time") was packed
full of luxuries. safety features and advanced engineering.
Highlights included unique double-hinged 'kinematic' pillarless
doors allowing easy access to the front and rear seats (even when
tightly parked). the worlds largest opening glass sunroof at the
time (a full 1m/sq of opening roof) featuring strengthened
heat-reflecting glass. theatre seating (rear positioned higher than
the front). galvanised steel chassis with aluminium upper
structure. cavernous 530 litre boot. xenon headlights. a 'grand
air' button which simultaneously opened all pillarless windows and
sunroof. and finally a choice of powerful engines (3. 0 V6 or 2. 0
turbo) giving a grand tourer driving style and claimed lowest
0-62mph of 8. 6 seconds.
Delays in the launch prompted sudden competition from within when
Renault themselves elected to put their concept Vel Satis model
into production. Just ten months after Avantime production started
in 2001. Matra announced that they would cease all vehicle
manufacturing. with much of the facilities going on to be sold to
Pininfarina in 2003. Renault elected not to continue the
Avantime themselves. Across 18 months only 4. 57 vehicles were
built. half of those sold in France.
BBC's Top Gear positioned the Renault Avantime at 'Sub Zero' on
the 'Cool Wall' stating it was cooler even than the Aston Martin
Vanquish and "the coolest car money can buy". Despite this just 450
cars sold in the UK. of which nearly half were optioned as 3. 0
Privilege models.
Our car is a 2002 3. 0 Privilege Automatic in 'Steppe' Silver/Grey
with silver aluminium roof rails and full black leather upholstery.
Optioned with SatNav. this is a striking top of the range example
of Renaults futuristic MPV Coupe. The car is production number 210
in the sequence of cars built for the UK market and comes with a
letter from Renault UK. a certificate and a gift box containing an
Avantime concept print and Renault concept cars book. Owned by the
present registered keeper for the past six years the car is
reported as delivering good power. a pleasing exhaust note and a
bright and rewarding driving experience. The aluminium roof rails
are prone on the Avantime to oxidisation blisters but the rails on
this car remain in excellent condition. The remote control handset
that operates the concert music system is present and correct and
the car is also fitted with a good quality LPG alternative fuel
system with discreet twin tanks. It is intended that the car will
be presented at the sale with a fresh 12 months MoT
test certificate.
The Avantime combines bold styling with exceptional comfort and a
host of highly attractive features that would appeal to most car
enthusiasts. When you overlay the GT flare and performance with
such limited production numbers. we believe that the Avantime
possesses all of the hallmarks of a highly collectable
classic.


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