Renault Espace – 30 years

5 February 2015 Redazione Vintage

RETROSPECTIVE

Without the Renault Espace, today, after 30 years (31 to be exact) since its birth, the world would be different. All those who are up there, at the wheel of an SUV, must somehow thank this French girl, because it was the first MPV in automotive history. Segment that, over the years, after having brought innovation, also thanks to its design and to the thousands of possibilities, both for the positioning of the seats and for the enormous load compartment, has become a proper fashion. Ideal car for numerous families, for those who have children which can’t leave home all their toys and for those who travel a lot, has found broad support from the very beginning, after a difficult and tortuous gestation that saw the French company, dare and risk, with a project that no one thought would give similar results. The first series, produced until 1991, was offered with three different engines: a four-cylinder 2.0 liters petrol, a 2.9 V6 and a 2.1cc diesel. This year the fifth generation has been unveiled, and even though fashions have changed and most people are looking for a few inches to the ground more than before, it seemed right to pay tribute to such a vehicle that has made its part in history.