Festival Automobile International awards Renault two prizes

For another year running, auto excellence as been celebrated, with the 2022 Festival Automobile International awarding its Grand Prix, and Renault garnering especial laurels.

On December 3, 2021, a jury of 12 with members coming from a range of industries – automotive, media, architecture, and jewellery – met in Paris to review the year’s selection of creative and visionary projects and choose winners for each of the 14 prizes.

Two Renault projects in the running stood out. Renault 5 Prototype, the re-visitation of the iconic car, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, was voted 2022 Most Beautiful Concept Car by the public. Meanwhile, the Renault SUITE N°4 concept car, designed especially for the 60th anniversary of 4L, was awarded the Jury’s Honorable Mention award.

Renault 5 Prototype: most beautiful concept car

In 2022, the Festival Automobile International has reinvented its most renowned award, moving from the most beautiful car, to the most beautiful concept car. Moreover, for the first time ever, the winner of this award was chosen directly by the public.

Over December 2, 2021 to January 16, 2022, car enthusiasts voted online for their favorite concept car among the 10 shortlisted designs. Thanks to its crowd-pleasing neo-futuristic design, Renault 5 Prototype was elected ‘Plus Beau Concept Car de l’ Année 2022’ (2022 Most Beautiful Concept Car), capturing more than 70 per cent of the votes.

Renault 5 Prototype serves to highlight the marque’s commitment to making electric vehicles accessible throughout Europe. This concept car is a compact city car full of charm, that propels one of the brand’s icons into the future, with a modern, all-electric touch.

“This award is further proof that Renault 5 is an icon of the past, the present, and soon also the future,” remarked Renault Design Director Gilles Vidal. “We are happy to see that the prototype is being well received by both the press and the public, with the series production model set to be unveiled in 2024.”

Honourable mention for Renault SUITE N°4

Among the 14 Grand Prix, the Jury also awarded an Honourable Mention to a vehicle, person, or company that they deem to be of particular interest.

This year, the ‘Mention Spéciale’ (Honorable Mention of the Jury) was awarded to Renault SUITE N°4, a concept car born from the collaboration between Renault and French designer, Mathieu Lehanneur, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Renault 4.

Renault SUITE N°4 is an original concept car inspired by the idea of a nomad hotel suite. The model features the same exterior dimensions and lines as the iconic model, but comes with a radical twist.

Here, the world of architecture and automotive combine to create an open-air hotel room where the rear section and hatch are replaced by polycarbonate windows; the body is painted with a special finish to give it the mineral feel of cement, and the front grill is made in polished aluminum for a permanent effect of fluidity.