Renault Talisman concept

Talisman is a top-of-the-range, four-seater coupé with a streamlined yet powerful silhouette. "The quality of the ideas and concepts we wished to express required a suitably prestigious medium," explains Patrick le Quément, Senior Vice President, Corporate Design. "This is why we chose a GT model, combining beauty with an aura of top performance, control and serenity."

Technological complexity disappears behind an air of simplicity inside the cabin, a hymn to space and transparency that brings a unique sensation of comfort and well-being. Encapsulating a new driving experience, Talisman introduces the 'Touch Design' concept, which aims for an ideal relationship between man and machine. Through its shape and materials, each element must infer its function, suggest its use, be an invitation to touch.

"Talisman clearly illustrates an idealized vision of how we imagine tomorrow’s car interior should be," says Patrick le Quément. The cabin is the focal point of the vehicle. "We hope that through its proportions, Talisman will epitomize the eternal GT car. Similarly, the gullwing doors have been chosen for the magical way they reveal and enhance the interior."

The long gullwing doors (2,450mm) open electro-hydraulically to reveal a superbly simple interior, with no centre pillar to hinder access to the cabin. Technical, spacious and elegant, Talisman’s cabin evokes the world of home furnishing. The eye is immediately drawn to a strip of red leather that seems to levitate in space then unfurls around a central tunnel, upholstered in grey, to form the carbon-structure seats that closely follow the contours of the body. In an elegant curve it becomes the cabin floor, rising towards the windscreen to lead into the opening movement of the dashboard.

Attached to the front body panel by slender metal beams, the shape of the dashboard evokes that of an aircraft’s wing. It epitomizes simplicity and purity. Its elegance is captured in its unique feature: a Tag Heuer clock. The upper section pivots open to reveal stowage space.

Here, the notion of bare essentials is elevated to an ideal, synonymous with elegance. It is a reminder too that technology must be at our service, and that it must not deprive passengers of space. Talisman’s seats are fixed. Instead, the dashboard and the pedal unit – designed as a single unit – can be electrically adjusted forwards or backwards so that the driver can find the most comfortable driving position. A further advantage of this feature is that rear-seat passengers will always have the same legroom. Meanwhile, the cavity formed by the door panels, in osmosis with the shape of the seats, heightens the sensation of comfort and safety.

The four dials on either side of the steering wheel, made from three superposed crystal discs, are as though in equilibrium. The laser-engraved numerals on the central disc appear to be suspended in mid-air.

The interior lighting in the roof panel provides a dual function: four sources of indirect light plus a direct reading light. Such apparent simplicity in fact subtly conceals the complex technology that characterizes the cabin. The leather of the seats is combined with an elastic fabric for the cushion. This in turn hides a pocket of air that inflates and deflates to adjust the seat to the perfect height.

Talisman features a "keyless go" function based on a low-frequency, hands-free badge, which also opens and closes the side doors and boot. The sensors are located under the front wings for the doors and at the rear for the tailgate.

Three cameras relay a panoramic rear view of the outside environment, which is displayed on a multi-function, voice-activated wide screen, located in the upper part of the dashboard. This screen also provides information on navigation, the hi-fi system, air-conditioning and the vehicle’s warning and security systems.

With optimal comfort, practicality and beauty in mind, Renault designers have created two stowage cases that attach to rails inside the boot.

The headlamps, based on fluid optics technology to reflect light, are fashioned from a strip of glass that extends into the tops of the front wings. The radiator grille emphasizes the new visual identity of the Renault brand, whose core element is a central dihedron, with the logo emblem mounted in a small diamond-shaped grille, itself located at the centre of the dihedron.

In harmony with the desire to promote a sensation of well-being and spaciousness inside the vehicle, the windscreen extends into two strips of glass to form the roof panel, then becomes the V-shaped rear window.

Talisman is a rear-wheel drive vehicle with a V8 engine whose cooling system is optimized by side extraction outlets. The diffuser situated in the lower part of the rear has been developed to enhance aerodynamic stability.