Renault’s Laguna Coupe, due in autumn 2008, is to be targeted at the 50-plus male user-chooser market.
Keith Hawes, Renault’s fleet director, said: “It could stimulate a larger sector for the male user-chooser who is over 50 but still thinks he is 30-something and wants to pretend he has no kids.
“It might not generate huge volumes, but will have a halo effect on Laguna with V6 diesel (265PS) and petrol engines, and will have a four-wheel-steering active chassis.”
Welcoming the design department’s decision to carry most elements of the Coupe concept into production Hawes added: “This will be a head-turner with a good business case as a 2+2 and a premium diesel engine. In some ways it reflects the same appeal as the Ford Capri, dubbed ‘the car you always promised yourself’.”
Renault’s presence in the low volume sector will be strengthened by General Motors’ decision not to build a coupe version of the Vectra replacement that’s on sale from September 2008.
The Korean-built compact 4×4 Koleos arriving next spring plus a larger crossover counterpart planned for 2010 will sustain Renault’s assault on the more consciously trendy end of the business car market.
