Where Are They Now? Renault Avantime

For those of you who may not recognize this interesting two-door people carrier, this is the Renault Avantime. The name comes from the french word “Avant” which means “Ahead” and time which means…time. It was produced between 2001 and 2003, with less than 9,000 of them actually finding their ways onto our roadways. Power came from a choice of three engines. Initial release models came with a 3.0L V6 with 210 horsepower, equipped with either a six-speed manual or a five speed automatic. Later models could be had with a 2.0L turbo four cylinder making 163 horsepower, the same transmission options were available on the four cylinder, as the V6. There was also a 2.2L turbodiesel that made 148 horsepower, and a nice 236 lb-ft of torque.

I, like most of you, remember watching the episode of Top Gear where Clarkson, Hammond, and May modified an Avantime, equipping it with a massive rear wing (on a front wheel drive car) and a splitter made out of wood, with the goal of lapping their test track faster than a Mitsubishi Evo X. Well, the other day I saw a review for the Avantime on my “Recommended” list on Youtube. It was a Men and Motor’s review of the Avantime, done by none other than Richard Hammond himself. After the video ended, I set off on a quest to figure out what happened to this jack of all trades car.

In the early 2000s, the Avantime stood out, and while it is still incredibly unique in it’s own right, in a world of BMW X6’s and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupes and GLC Coupes, the Avantime is just another coupe from a class that shouldn’t have a coupe option. If the Avantime was still on sale, I’d imagine it would come with Renault-Nissan’s VQ35DE with a little under 300 horsepower. They might have even figured out how to make the convertible option work too.

Unfortunately, sales never took off for this quirky and unique vehicle, as with most niche-market vehicles, (I’m looking at you, Murano CrossCabriolet) and the Avantime was discontinued in 2003. Part of the Avantime’s charm was that it only made sense to us enthusiasts. It’s a shame that it came and left so quickly. Renault launched the Vel Satis in 2001, and it came with a version of the VQ35DE that had 239 horsepower. The Vel Satis offered four doors, more space, more power, and ultimately lowered the Avantime into the grave.

So where are the Avantimes now? Well, with about 8,500 units sold, and the last ones sold in 2003, my guess is some of them found their final resting places, while other’s like this one are cared for by their current owners, and are doing their best to keep these incredibly unique coupes alive.

What do you think though? If the Avantime was still around, would it still sell? Would Renault’s new design language turn it into a whole new machine, or would it just blend in with the rest of these crossover coupes?