The little DeZir that wasn’t... Just a short one today as the most wonderful time of the year is a bit time-consuming for me. Of course there’s proper casts turned into X-mas tree ornaments but a carded cast will do just fine here, those cards are made for it. Until I DLM’ed it.
I really love this Majorette. But it isn’t a DeZir. It’s a reworked Alpine A110-50. Why? Look at the nose of the 1:1:
They just moved those little fog light LED circles upwards. As the A110-50 already had.
There’s also a roof-scoop. Some air-inlets on top of the frunk. Different shaped headlight surroundings. The list of errors is endless. So what should I start telling you about in the first place: the DeZir or the A110-50?
Even the card is wrong as it clearly states RENAULT Alpine DeZir. The Dieppe based company never had anything to do with it somehow though, prior to it being reworked as it’s racing cousin, the A110-50...
The DeZir was “just” a concept to introduce Renault’s new design chief (fellow Dutchie Laurens van den Acker) and vision. That vision was all about the Fleur de Marguerite, a 6-petal flower with each petal representing a phase in life. This one was the first phase: Love.
You can clearly see the Nœud Papillon (bow-tie), the black ribbon connecting and surrounding the headlights, a design gimmick all recent Renaults seem to feature lately. You saw it first in this one.
Okay, one more clear miss... That rear window... The DeZir didn’t have any glass in the rear...
For those who wonder why Renault used an upper case “Z” in DeZir: that was to express this was a Zero-emission vehicle. No pathetic city cruiser, with it’s 160hp, 830kgs and probably a gazillion Newtons torque it got to 100 km/h in 5 seconds. Top speed 180km/h. And three ways of charging: At home in 8 hours, charging it for 80% at a prise de courant triphasé 400 V in 20 minutes or... A fast and complete battery change, called la système Quick Drop by Renault.
I’m curious if we’ll ever see a Renault Quick Drop Battery Switch Station on every street corner. Probably not this X-mas. Speaking of which... I do wish you all a merry, merry X-mas. Enjoy your days in good company with good food. And thank you all for making this such a great place.
And I have to thank Laurens van den Acker for having this designed by Yann Jarsalle. As it made way for the A110-50. The R.S.01. The TreZor. And that Nœud Papillon actually is a styling feature that made Renault stand out again a bit. I love the looks of the Talisman, the current Megane and Clio. Et c’est ça: Joyeux Noël!
