► We run down Renault’s mental Geneva concepts
► They include a half-track, an electric jet-ski and a boat
► There’ll be a couple of cars on the show stand, too
Renault has given its engineers some artistic freedom – and they’ve seized the opportunity and ran with it. They’ve produced a barmy range of electrified concept vehicles for the 2024 Geneva Motor Show, none of which have anything to do with cars.
There are five wacky vehicles in total, each of which was designed in tandem with some similarly zany French start-up companies. There’s an overarching theme for the consortium, too. Each one tackles a different natural element – earth, water, air and snow. Plus, all five were designed to be as compact and as fast as possible.
The maddest concept is the one in the header image. It’s called the Moonbike – and it’s the world’s first pure-electric, half-track snow scooter. It weighs 90kg (which Renault says makes it properly chuckable) and it has a top speed of 25mph. It also has a big enough battery to tear around the wilderness for up to three hours.
Renault also commissioned the world’s first electric jet ski, which sounds like a recipe for electrification to us. Renault obviously trusts its engineers, though, because it used French Grand Prix motorcycle rider Fabio Quartararo as the test pilot – and he’s still here. It weighs just 65kg and has a top speed of 48mph.
Renault’s other weird concepts include a folding sailing dinghy called the Reverso, an electrically assisted BMX and a battery-powered hydrofoil – all of which are finished in the same fetching shade of yellow as the Renault 5 E-Tech. The car will also be at the show, but we reckon it’ll play second fiddle to this toy box.
Luke Wilkinson is Deputy Editor of our sister site, Parkers. He’s worked as an automotive journalist for five years and spends his time writing news, reviews and features across Parkers and CAR magazine.