Renault 8 Gordini returns as a 270hp electric coupe concept, but only as a one-off

A one-off electric revival, not a production car

Renault has unveiled the Renault 8 Gordini Concept, a two-seat, fully electric coupe that reinterprets the 1964 Renault 8 Gordini, the high-performance rear-engined version of the company's family sedan. The modern car swaps the original's four doors for a low, wide coupe body and replaces the petrol engine with a single electric motor. Renault made clear in its 24 September 2026 announcement that the car is a one-off, developed as what the company called a pure 'exercice de style', and it will not be commercialised, distinguishing it from Renault's production revivals of the R4 and R5. ⁶⁵⁷

Renault's design vice president Alexandre Malval told Autocar, as reported by CarExpert, that the vehicle is 'just a concept car' designed to celebrate Gordini. When asked whether public reaction could change the company's stance, Malval replied, according to CarExpert: 'I know some people you can send emails to'. CarExpert also reports that some elements of the design could still appear in showroom vehicles, most notably the tail-lights that sit behind the bodywork and disappear completely when switched off. ⁸

The concept follows a series of Renault heritage projects, including the R17 electric restomod created with designer Ora Ïto and the Renault 5 Diamant art car made with Pierre Gonalons. Unlike those projects, the 8 Gordini Concept was designed entirely in-house, with no outside collaborator. ⁵¹⁰⁹

Proportions and exterior design

The concept measures 4.12 metres long, 1.88 metres wide and 1.27 metres tall. Automobile Propre notes this makes it 12cm longer than the original 8 Gordini, with width growing from 1.49m to 1.88m, while CarExpert calculates it as 120mm longer, 390mm wider and with a roof 105mm lower than the original. It rides on 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear, a size difference Renault says is deliberate, designed to draw the eye towards the rear axle and reinforce the rear-wheel-drive character of the original. ⁶⁷⁸⁹

The body is carbon-fibre and wears the iconic blue livery with the double white stripe of the original. Up front there are six round LED headlights, echoing the additional lamps of the original rally version, set in a grille-less V-shaped nose. At the rear, flush tail-lights are barely visible when switched off, as Renault design vice president Alexandre Malval explained in comments reported by EV Powered. Further details include flying buttresses on the C-pillars, a roof spoiler, a rear ventilation grille, a large diffuser, shell-shaped mirrors, and a bonnet that removes as a single piece with no visible shut line. ⁵²¹⁰⁹

The paint is described by Renault as a modern three-layer take on the historic Bleu de France, layering mother-of-pearl over a blue-tinted binder for depth. According to Renault material cited by Top Gear Italia and EV Powered, the double white stripe is not simply decorative: elements such as the windscreen-base grille and the illuminated graphics inside the rear lights align with it, and the stripe continues into the cabin across the top of the dashboard. The Gordini lettering recreates the grooved lettering of the 1964 badge, and a new eight-segment '8' emblem nods to the original's design. ⁶³¹⁰⁹

Interior: café racer minimalism

Renault frames the design around the 'café racer' ethos borrowed from custom motorcycle culture, stripping away unnecessary elements to let materials and mechanical components speak. Inside, there is no large touchscreen infotainment system; CarExpert reports the focus is 'clearly on driving'. Instead, six round dials with thick bezels sit on a brushed aluminium strip across the dashboard. These dials are small digital displays rather than analog instruments, as Automobile Propre and New Atlas each describe. ⁶³⁸⁷⁹

EV Powered states there is no plastic or carbon fibre anywhere in the cabin, with brushed aluminium and Alcantara used instead. The centre console and switchgear are trimmed in brushed aluminium and contain physical controls. The bucket seats combine blue corduroy centres with Alcantara, a nod to the original's simple seats, and EV Powered reports the stitching on the door panels is inspired by racetrack kerbs. A red dot on the stopwatch button at the centre of the dashboard is, according to Renault, the only other colour accent. ¹⁰³⁵

What is known about the powertrain

Renault has confirmed only that the concept uses a single electric motor producing 270hp, which several outlets express as 198kW or 201kW, or 266bhp in EV Powered's conversion, mounted at the rear to preserve the original's rear-wheel-drive architecture. Numerama reports that Renault has published nothing else on the technical side: no battery capacity, no range, no weight and no acceleration figures, which the publication describes as logical for a museum piece but frustrating. CarExpert similarly notes it is not clear exactly where the 201kW motor is located. ^6752108

The original 8 Gordini: historical context

The original Renault 8 Gordini was launched in 1964 as the high-performance version of the rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive Renault 8 family sedan, with a 95hp engine that was nearly double the output of the donor car, along with lowered suspension, upgraded brakes and four or six headlights. It was priced at nearly double a standard R8, according to New Atlas, and by 1966 a five-speed gearbox pushed output to 110hp with a claimed top speed of 175km/h. ⁵⁶⁷⁹

The car, nicknamed 'la Gorde', served as a driving school for a generation of drivers including French rally legend Jean Ragnotti, and won three straight Tour de Corse rallies between 1964 and 1966, according to New Atlas. CarExpert notes the original 8 Gordini was powered over its life by a 66kW 1.1-litre or 74kW 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, while player.hu records that the underlying Renault 8 was shown in 1962 and produced for fourteen years. ⁶⁷⁹⁸¹

Where and when to see it

The concept made its first public outing at the Renault Carwalk event on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 September 2026, and will be exhibited on the Renault stand at the Paris Motor Show (Mondial de l'Auto) from 12 to 18 October 2026. After the show, it will join the planned Renault Collections museum at Flins, which Renault expects to open to the public in roughly fifteen months; Automobile Propre puts the opening by early 2028, while New Atlas notes the company has not locked in a firm date. ^5671049