Renault's hyper-efficient concept car swaps pedals for fighter jet controls – and it could catch on

• The Renault Filante concept car is aiming for electric efficiency records
• Single-seater commits all controls to steering yoke
• Renault’s director of advanced design says it could be seen on future cars

The new Renault Filante Record 2025 concept car cuts an imposing figure. Weighing just 1,000kg but measuring 5.12m long, it is more akin to a fighter plane or land speed record vehicle than it is a traditional concept car.

But rather than preview an upcoming passenger vehicle, the recently unveiled Filante has been developed to “push the limits of aerodynamics and energy efficiency”, according to Renault, providing the perfect blank canvas for engineers and designers to improve aerodynamics and therefore increase the range and performance of future EVs.

One of the innovations that the French company is exploring is the use of steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire technology, removing the mechanical connection between the driver and the vehicle controls completely.

Tesla fans will know that the Cybertruck arrived with steer-by-wire technology, which has proven a learning curve for some drivers. But Renault has taken things further with this concept by committing everything to the PlayStation controller masquerading as a steering wheel.

“It’s something that liberates a lot of space in the interior,” Sandeep Bhambra, Renault’s director of advanced design told Top Gear. According to Bhambra, it’s also something that the company is looking at for future cars.

In essence, the Filante can be controlled entirely by the hands, making the driving experience more akin to a Gran Turismo session than a traditionally complex high performance machine.

Renault says that by removing the mechanical connections between key controls it liberates designers and engineers to create new possibilities in its platform and cockpit architecture.

Where EVs are concerned, this could lead to smarter packaging of bulky battery packs and electric motors.

Bring on the fighter jet for the road

Although the Renault Filante Record 2025 is a rolling science lab, rather than a genuine look at the future of passenger cars, it riffs on a number of interesting ideas that are circulating the automotive industry at the moment.

Firstly, with increasing levels of automation, do drivers really need the traditionally bulky foot controls of yesteryear? Tesla certainly doesn’t think so, as it got rid of absolutely everything in its Cybercab concept.

Removing all controls frees up space for in-vehicle entertainment in driverless cars, but committing brakes and throttle to one, hand-operated unit in a more traditional car also lightens the load, which means future electric vehicles can be more efficient and offer a greater range from smaller and lighter battery packs.

Granted, not everyone will initially agree with Renault’s hand control idea – some might even say they are potentially dangerous – but advances in driver assistance systems and autonomous driving technology will soon take care a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to safety.

In addition to this, cockpit innovations like this could also free up automotive companies to work on more interesting, cleverly-packaged designs.

As we head towards the next chapter of transportation, do cars really need to look like the boxy, four-wheel things we’ve known for over a century?

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