Special EV features multiple tennis-inspired styling cues and makes its debut at the French Open in May
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by Chris Chilton
April 26, 2024 at 05:37
- Renault 5 E-Tech Roland Garros to be unveiled at Roland Garros French Open in May.
- Tennis-inspired details include red clay-colored phone charger pad and e-pop gear selector styled like a racket handle.
- Four EV-converted 1970s Renault 5s will be used as shuttles at the tournament.
Between the 1990s and 2010s, Peugeot built a number of luxury-focused, limited edition superminis inspired by the Roland Garros French Open tennis tournament. But Renault is the event’s automotive partner these days and this year it’s used the connection to whip up the first limited edition 5 E-Tech.
The Renault 5 E-Tech Roland Garros goes on display at the 2024 French Open that takes place in May and June at the Stade de Roland Garros in Paris. Garros, by the way, wasn’t a legendary French tennis player, but a famous aviator who was shot down by the Germans in WWI and later had the stadium named in his honor.
Related: New Renault 5 E-Tech Is A Retro Mini Cooper EV Rival For $27,000
The special run of 5s comes in a choice of Pearl White, Midnight Blue, Starry Black and one extra color exclusive to the series, Matt Slate Gray. Each of those paint schemes is set against a textile-finished grained roof in Satin Black that’s edged with chrome satin-finish trim, and the cars roll on 18-inch Ecrou diamond-cut black alloy wheels with Matt Slate Gray center caps.
There are Roland Garros logos on the lower sections of the front doors set into a cross-hatch pattern which looks like it’s meant to represent the strings of a tennis racket but is apparently a reference to the Cross of Saint Andrew and inspired by the architecture of the stadium.
More Roland Garros logos feature inside, including on seats upholstered in a recycled textile weave Renault says was inspired by technical fabrics used in sportswear, and on the end of the e-pop gear selector whose lever is fashioned to look like the grip of a tennis racket. Backlighting on the dashboard spells out the name ‘Roland Garros Paris,’ and in a clever nod to the French Open’s clay court surface, the carpets and console phone charger are finished on an orange-red color.
The 5 Roland Garros will be on display at the tournament alongside various other E-Tech 5s. And they won’t be the only Renaults on site. The automaker is providing 180 hybrid and electric cars and SUVs to organizers for use during the event and is even offering shuttle rides in four classic 5s from the 1970s, each retrofitted to run on electric power.
