New Renault 4 goes 4x4 with rugged twin-motor concept

Small electric crossover gains a motor on the rear axle for 4WD – and it's looking likely for production Renault has strongly hinted that the new 4 crossover will gain a 4x4 variant with the unveiling of a new off-road-influenced concept called the Savane. Reprising the name of an adventure-themed variant of the original Renault 4, this new concept rides 15mm higher than the standard car, features bespoke utility-style wheels wrapped in grippy Goodyear tyres, and is decked out inside with 'deep brown' textiled fabrics. It also has widened tracks and contrasting black body cladding in a nod to its enhanced off-road potential. But more importantly – as signalled by the bespoke 4x4 badging – the Savane is most obviously differentiated from the standard front-wheel-drive car by the addition of a second motor on the rear axle, to give permanent four-wheel drive. Renault has not given any technical details, but the FWD car comes with either a 118bhp or 148bhp motor, so if the 4x4 has another one of them at the back, it could produce somewhere in the region of 300bhp - which would give it comparable performance to the twin-motor Skoda Elroq vRS. Renault has not officially stated its plans to introduce an AWD 4, but the Savane concept shows that its Ampr Small architecture can accommodate a dual-motor set-up, which the firm says shows the potential "to create a B-segment electric vehicle with four-wheel drive". A Renault spokesperson told Autocar that the firm is "currently studying the technical feasibility and the financial equation", but added: "We can't confirm anything yet about the arrival of a production 4x4." If it reaches showrooms, the 4 4x4 will be among the smallest electric cars available with a twin-motor powertrain. The unveiling of a twin-motor 4 also opens the possibility of its lower-riding Renault 5 sibling adopting the same set-up, though it is unclear if that car's more compact body and floorpan would allow for the installation of a motor at the rear. The original 4 was always a more rugged and outdoorsy take on the people's car than the contemporary Renault 5 city car, though, and the two cars' electric descendants have taken on similar billings. In fact, the new 4 was previewed in 2022 with an extreme rally raid-influenced concept called the Trophy - which nodded to the rallying prowess of its 1970s namesake, and strongly hinted at Renault's plans to one day introduce an off-road-ready variant. The company has never voiced any plans for a twin-motor 5. If the smaller car can take a twin-motor set-up, though, it has significant implications for the 5-based Alpine A290 hot hatch, which would theoretically be in line for a substantial power boost and could take advantage of torque vectoring across its two axles to enhance its agility and responsiveness.

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