Renault Filante Record 2025 Sets 1,000 KM EV Record
Renault set itself a bold target at the start of 2025: drive an electric demonstrator more than 1,000 km on a Scenic-sized battery at realistic motorway speeds, without stopping to recharge. The team planned its first attempt for October, but bad weather forced a late cancellation. On 18 December 2025, Renault returned to the UTAC test track in Morocco and completed the run, establishing an electric-efficiency record under real-world conditions at an average speed above 100 km/h.
Renault did not chase distance at any cost. The team could have installed an oversized battery or crawled along in eco mode at around 30 km/h, but it pursued genuine efficiency at speed. Engineers powered the Renault Filante Record 2025 with a standard 87 kWh battery, the same capacity used in the Scenic E-Tech electric. They tasked the drivers with sustaining an average speed above 110 km/h. Renault aimed to exceed 1,000 km in under 10 hours, including technical stops and driver changes, by maximising aerodynamic performance, reducing mass, and selecting materials that supported lower electricity consumption.
Renault will also share the story behind the efficiency record through a three-episode behind-the-scenes mini-series that follows the Filante Record 2025 project from concept to completion. Episode 1, “The beginnings”, revisits Renault’s record-setting history and explains how the team engineered the concept car as an innovation laboratory. Episode 2, “Under pressure, explores extreme lightweighting, technical hurdles, and the solutions that kept performance on target. Episode 3, “Now or never!”, takes viewers inside the official Moroccan attempt that capped months of intense development.
Renault designed Filante Record 2025 to look as distinctive as it performs, while honouring the brand’s record-breaking heritage in efficiency, speed, and endurance. The ultraviolet blue finish pays tribute, a century on, to the 1925 40 CV, while the concept also nods to the 1956 Étoile Filante and weaves in aviation cues. A protective cockpit bubble evokes a fighter jet, and the driving position takes inspiration from Formula 1 single-seaters. Renault built every design decision around one guiding principle: maximise efficiency and minimise electricity consumption.
"The overarching goal, from the first sketches to the final test-track drive, was absolute efficiency. That's the hallmark of a record-breaking car – and it mirrors Renault's pioneering spirit and tradition since its inception in 1898. A lot like the 1925 40 CV and the 1956 Étoile Filante, the Filante Record 2025 was engineered to be the first road-worthy car to drive 1,000 km at over 100 km/h without recharging, with an 87 kWh battery exactly like the one powering the Scenic E-Tech electric. This accomplishment took a lot of exacting work on several fronts – ultra-efficient aerodynamics, of course, low-rolling-resistance tyres, lightweight materials (including carbon fibre and 3D-printed aluminium components), and advanced technical features (steer-by-wire, for instance). Teams of experts from Renault and its partners Michelin and Ligier worked on every aspect of Filante Record 2025's design to demonstrate that electric vehicles can now travel long distances without recharging, even at sustained speeds, Sandeep Bhambra, Chief Designer, Advanced Renault.
When Renault unveiled the first Filante Record 2025 version at the Rétromobile trade show last winter, it already combined aircraft-like lines with cues from historic Renault models. Wind-tunnel testing in spring highlighted clear opportunities to cut aerodynamic drag, so the teams redesigned key elements to unlock higher efficiency. Engineers reshaped the front and rear fairings and mounted them directly on the wheels, improving airflow while making the silhouette appear lighter. The central structure already met aerodynamic goals, so the team kept it largely intact and focused on refining interface areas and reducing air intakes to minimise residual drag.
Renault positioned the Filante Record 2025 as a lab-on-wheels for next-generation electric vehicle efficiency. The car introduces all-electric steering and braking via steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems that expand packaging options while reducing weight. The programme also relies on ultra-light materials such as carbon fibre, aluminium alloys, and 3D-printed Scalmalloy, alongside component shapes that place material only where the structure needs it. Michelin developed bespoke tyres to reduce rolling resistance and support aerodynamic performance, while Renault worked closely with partners, including Ligier, on the powertrain, chassis, and carbon structure. Renault Group drivers Constance Léraud-Reyser, Laurent Hurgon, and Arthur Ferrière shared the on-track workload and helped deliver the record attempt under endurance-test conditions.
Renault regrouped after it cancelled the initial October attempt in France three days before the planned date, then moved the operation to Morocco to give Filante Record 2025 the best chance of setting a new benchmark before year-end. On 18 December, teams began work on the concept car from 6.30 am in cold, dry, windless conditions, with sunshine forecast throughout the day and temperatures rising to 13°C in early afternoon. The plan called for around 10 hours of driving and 239 laps of a circuit just over 4 kilometres long. At 7:50 am, Laurent Hurgon climbed into the cockpit, sealed the canopy, and prepared for an 8 am start at first light. After 3 hours and 20 minutes, Constance Léraud-Reyser took over, then Arthur Ferrière completed the final stint as night fell. After 9 hours and 52 minutes of driving, excluding seven minutes for the driver change, the team achieved its goal: Filante Record 2025 covered 1,008 kilometres at an average speed of 102 km/h without recharging, consuming just 7.8 kWh/100 km. The car finished with 11% battery capacity remaining, enough for an estimated additional 120 km at speeds above 100 km/h.
"The wind-tunnel tests last spring showed us exactly what our computer simulations had hinted at: that Filante's drag coefficient was too high. It was close to 0.40, and we had to bring it down to about 0.30. We realised that, to get there, we needed to go back to the drawing board and take another look at several aspects of the design and architecture. So we made bold changes – redesigning the front and rear wheel fairings, which accounted for most of the drag. But we also wanted to keep the 40 CV vibe, that artful balance between remarkable performance and fetching looks. We streamlined the 'wings' and actually rearranged the architecture, detaching them from the central structure and mounting them directly on the wheels. This freed up airflow around the mechanical components – the suspension, control arms and transmission – which had been obstructing airflow before. Then we reduced the air inlets and outlets as much as we could to eliminate any parasitic drag. Filante was inherently aerodynamic from the outset. What we did was fine-tune it to unlock its full potential and enable it to meet our performance targets, Jocelyn Mérigeault, aerodynamics engineer.
”Three hours of total concentration, with the sun setting over an almost lunar landscape. The silence is striking, and you feel slightly cut off from the world, entirely in your own bubble to focus on performance. After a three-hour stint, the battery is at 75%, exactly on target for the 1,000-kilometre objective. The pressure is there, but it’s a true collective challenge and a great source of pride to contribute to this record, Laurent Hurgon, development driver and first driver.
”Four hours at the wheel felt long, but the adrenaline and the music in my ears helped me push through. The key was concentration: holding the line, optimising every movement and being smooth on the steering wheel, especially with the steer-by-wire system, which is a joy to drive. With the heat and the thirst, it really felt like running a marathon, but I met the personal challenge, driving for four hours, far longer than planned. Now we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Arthur and for reaching the 1,000-kilometre mark, Constance Leyraud-Reyser, chassis control systems engineer and second stint driver.
”Renault Filante Record 2025 is an astonishing car, both exterior and interior. It demands a high level of concentration, but it’s pretty easy to maintain the right speed and the right line. I’m very proud to have been part of this record. As the final stint driver, there was a bit of pressure; I had to finish the job after Laurent and Constance. But as soon as I put on my helmet and gloves, I was entirely focused and determined!” Arthur Ferrière, chassis tuning engineer and final stint driver.
Renault views the Filante Record 2025 programme as more than a concept-car challenge. The team will feed the lessons from its real-world electric vehicle range performance, aerodynamics work, rolling-resistance gains, and lightweight engineering into future road-going electric models, helping them deliver higher efficiency at sustained motorway speeds and meet everyday driving needs in demanding conditions.
”This project was born from an obsession: achieving record-breaking efficiency. We battled the weather and aerodynamics, but what stands out most for me is the human adventure: an incredibly motivating collective challenge, driven by the dedication of the Renault teams and all our partners, Olivier Blanche, concept-car project manager.
