The Renault VBG Prototype was a concept design meant to lead to a production vehicle to replace the Renault 4 and 6 models as an entry-level option below the Renault 5. Designer Robert Opron had been recruited away from his head-of-design role at Citroën and Renault soon put him to work to come up with this prototype.
The Véhicule Bas de Gamme (“low-end vehicle”) Prototype incorporated several cost-cutting and forward-thinking elements in its design. These included a semi-circular window glass that reduced complexity and cost in the side windows, a front-hinged clamshell-style hood that simplified maintenance and production costs, and a boxy, but roomy shape for maximum interior space.
The VBG Prototype was unveiled in 1976 and continued revision into the 1980s. It eventually became the Renault Twingo in 1992, which bears a strong resemblance to Opron’s original design motif. Opron eventually left Renault in the mid-80s to work for Fiat.
The VBG, while never seeing direct production, was influential in its design and evolution for about a decade. Renault designers used it to inspire or inform many compact and space-efficient vehicle designs through to the 1990s. Its modular approach and practical physics were instrumental to vehicles like the EVE and Twingo.
It is believed that the original Opron VBG was scrapped for use in future prototypes of the concept. Photos herein are from Renault’s archives.
