By Gilles Guillaume
PARIS (Reuters) – Renault boss Luca de Meo on Monday called on the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to permit electric models to compete in rallies so the French carmaker’s new Renault 5 Turbo unveiled at the Paris Motor Show could race.
The car designed by Laurens van den Acker – nearly 400 horsepower with two electric motors – is so far a simple concept car built along the lines of the Renault brand’s R5 from the 1980s, produced only for demonstration.
However, it could be further developed for rally use if the rules were changed to allow it to take part.
“We have almost found the technical solution to do this, we just have to find the place in the budget,” de Meo said at the auto show in Paris.
“But if business goes better than expected, maybe we could afford to develop it? It would be perfect to make it top of the range at Renault.” “The dream is… to fight for a world rally championship,” Renault’s CEO added. “So the FIA should review the regulations to authorize pure electric vehicles.”
(Reporting By Gilles Guillaume; Writing by Nick Carey; Editing by Jan Harvey)
