It will eventually be equipped with a 3.5L V6 engine!
Walking around the Tokyo Auto Salon venue, I thought, “What? You brought a Renault Twin’Run from France?” at the booth of Hatano Motors in Saitama Prefecture. We talked to them about the “C’eLavie 105 Maxi” in bright blue.
The development concept is to drift through the dark night
The base of the circuit-specification car created by Hatano Motors is the Twingo GT, which went on sale on October 19, 2017. The “C’eLavie 105 Maxi” is Hatano Motors’ customization of the Twingo GT, which has high potential from the start.
The first thing that catches the eye on the exterior is the six fog lamps that have an outstanding presence. The development concept of this car was to drift through the night, and this is why it has a crazy and impactful appearance.
The fog lamps were also installed as a tribute to Renault’s racing cars, as the Cinq rally cars in the past also had six fog lamps. The design was based on heritage while making an impact. Like the C’eLavie 105, it also carried the Hatano logo.
The body is 105 mm wide on each side, a wide body that was achieved with the help of mass production supplier Kepler, a carbon specialist. 105 mm is also the number from which the name “C’eLavie 105 Maxi” is derived.
The body color is a vivid color called Gordini Blue with orange accents throughout. The blue and orange combination is a familiar Alpine coordination.
The rear wing was designed from scratch to create a ducktail shape similar to that of the Cinq rally car. The size of the wing was decided in perfect balance with the volume of the lower part of the body.
For the wheels, they installed A110-specific wheels jointly developed with Lavage, a French concept car sales company, and OZ Racing, who worked together on the Alpine A110, Hatano’s Auto Salon exhibit vehicle for 2023. Since this is a concept model designed for circuit driving, the lights have been removed and a strong roll cage has been installed.
The interior also incorporates Renault’s heritage
For the interior, Lavage provided the fabrics used in the Renault Cinq Turbo I for this concept model. Since the Alpine A110 had a red interior, the seat color was also based on red, but this time the color scheme was blue with red stitching to match the body color blue.
The seats were made for Alpine, and when they tried it, they happened to be able to install them, so they dared to keep the “ALPINE” logo as well.
Although there was no trouble in 2024, the development team worked hard on the concept car, even sparing time for sleep. Some of the team members had their day jobs, and they gathered on weekends to work on the project as if it were a club activity for adults.
Amazingly, Maxi was painted on the morning of the 11th, the day before the Auto Salon! Unsatisfied with the condition of the first painted body, the team decided to repaint it. The entire team worked together to create the body with last-minute attention to detail. The person in charge of the design who was on site commented as follows.
“Again this year, we created a car that is a Hatano Motor original, blending the efforts we have continued to make with the history of Renault-Spole. We are committed to creating a car that people who see it will recognize as having inherited the heritage with care, while adding an essence that is uniquely Hatano’s. People who drive French cars especially value historical aspects.”
“When people who like Renault and people who like French cars look at our cars, they like them! I have always tried to make people who like Renault and like French cars think, “I like that! I hope that this activity will eventually lead to an increase in the value of Hatano Motors and that we can become a bridge to France as a French car customization company originating from Japan. To gain recognition in France, we must continue to adhere to the basics.”
In the future, the “C’eLavie 105 Maxi” will be converted to a Lotus Exige V6 3.5-liter engine, and the current dummy ducts will be made into real ones to make it a monster.
