This is the long-awaited Renault Laguna coupe, which will be launch at this weekend’s Monaco Grand prix and the Cannes film festival.
In comparison to the Laguna coupe concept, the production car has a higher roofline and has lost some of the show car’s sharp styling. The rear of the door is now a much more conventional straight edge, rather than the concept’s sports car like shape, and the doors themselves are deeper. The bootlid is now higher, too.
The car’s shape is, however, totally different to the Laguna hatch. The front end has new wings, a new bonnet and a new bumper with a wide, Aston-Martin-like single piece intake. At the rear the concept’s narrow LED taillights have made it into production although the shape of the bootlid has changed.
Closely based on the Renault Laguna hatch, the coupe is built on the same platform as the four-door with the same suspension layout. But it’s slightly shorter, lower and wider, at 4.64m long, 1.4m high and 1.83m wide. Higher-spec versions will be available with Renault’s Active Drive four-wheel steering system, as used on the Laguna GT.
The car comes with existing engines from the Laguna range plus a new diesel and petrol V6. The 3.0-litre oil-burner packs 235hp and 332b ft of torque, while the 3.5-litre petrol unit offers 240bhp and 244lb ft; both come with an automatic transmission. The petrol V6 will be the range-topping model and should hit 60mph in under seven seconds.
The coupe will be aimed and priced in between the Peugeot 407 coupe and the BMW 3-Series coupe. That means prices will start at around £22,000, rising to around £27,000 for the range-topping V6 models.
Despite the low sales of upmarket French cars such as the 407 coupe and Renault’s own Vel Satis, Renault claims that the UK is one of the top four markets for the coupe.
Due to be launched at the Paris motor show in October, sales of the new Renault Laguna coupe will start in the UK in November this year. (Thanks to Autocar for News and Pictures)
