Renault introduced the Filante Record about a year ago. It is a single-seat experimental car with a length of 5.12 meters and a height of only 1.19 meters. The declared weight of the car is 1,000 kg, approximately 600 kg of which is attributed to the traction battery with a capacity of 87 kWh. The company noted that the use of electronic steering and braking control systems allowed for weight reduction by minimizing the number of mechanical components. Tires with a low rolling resistance coefficient also played an additional role in reducing energy consumption.
The record-breaking run took place on December 18. The Filante covered 1,008 km in less than 10 hours. Except for seven minutes spent changing drivers, the car moved without stopping. Recharging during the run was not required. At the finish line, the battery had about 11% charge remaining, which, according to Renault's calculations, would have been enough for approximately another 120 km. Thus, the potential range exceeded 1,100 km.
The energy consumption figure is comparable to the result of the Mercedes-Benz EQXX, which previously demonstrated 7.4 kWh per 100 km during its 1000-km run. Renault's tests were conducted not on public roads but on a closed circuit in Morocco, and not in winter conditions. Nevertheless, the average speed was about 102 km/h, which is only slightly lower than the current average speed on German autobahns, which, according to the German Economic Institute, is about 114 km/h.
Compared to the initial version of the concept, the characteristics of the battery have also changed. At the beginning of 2025, Renault claimed a "cell-block" design, allowing for weight reduction by abandoning a modular structure. The final vehicle uses a production battery with a capacity of 87 kWh from the Scenic E-Tech electric. According to Renault, such a battery in the production model weighs 511 kg.
Significant changes also affected aerodynamics. Wind tunnel tests showed that the first version of the Filante Record had considerable potential for improvements. Engineers reworked a number of body panels and optimized technical interfaces. As a result, the aerodynamic drag coefficient Cd was reduced from approximately 0.40 to 0.30.
Renault notes that the data obtained during the record-breaking run will be used in the development of future production electric vehicles. Although the 1,000 km range without recharging is noteworthy in itself, the key achievement of the project was the extremely low energy consumption. For comparison, even the most efficient production electric vehicles with a long range, such as the Lucid Air, demonstrate a minimum consumption of about 12 kWh per 100 km according to the WLTP cycle. At the same time, Renault does not yet disclose details about the Filante Record 2025 powertrain, which played an important role in achieving such a result.
Source: Renault