With the Arkana (also known as the Megane Conquest in some markets) launched in 2019, Renault was among the first mainstream automakers to hop on the coupe-SUV bandwagon. It's getting a bigger brother as the French brand has announced a new D-segment model will also attempt to combine a coupe and an SUV to create a swoopy high-riding vehicle. Contrary to reports speculating it would revive the "Avantime" moniker, it's going to be named "Rafale."
The moniker has been used before, but not on a car. In 1934, a year after the company with the diamond logo purchased aircraft company Caudron, the newly founded Caudron-Renault renamed the C460 racing plane the Rafale after a notable wind. The nameplate is technically already being used since the Megane E-Tech Electric can be painted in Rafale Grey.
Renault doesn't go into details about the newcomer, only saying it'll be based on the CMF-CD platform and will be powered by hybrid engines. Logic tells us it is heavily related to the new Espace, which is now an SUV rather than a minivan. Given the sloping roofline, it might lose the third row to sacrifice practicality for the sake of a sleeker profile.
Don't expect the 2024 Rafale to get a diesel engine since Renault is gradually abandoning oil-burners. The Espace can be had with a 1.2-liter, three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine producing 130 horsepower (96 kilowatts) and 205 Newton-meters (151 pound-feet) of torque. The ICE works with two electric motors, a main unit delivering 70 hp (50 kW) and 205 Nm (151 lb-ft) along with a secondary starter generator good for 25 hp and 50 Nm (37 lb-ft).
It will sit above the Arkana and round off the lineup, according to Renault. The world premiere is scheduled to take place on June 18 at the 54th Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.
