The Renault 4 Savane 4x4 Concept is a tough little French explorer

Renault has unveiled a new concept that it says “demonstrates the potential” for a new 4 with all-wheel drive. We say, stop playing around and get it into production, Renault.

This is the Renault 4 Savane 4x4 Concept, and as you might have realised by now, the biggest change from the standard new 4 is that it gets an extra motor on its rear axle for permanent four-wheel drive. Renault doesn’t say how powerful said motor is, so we’re just going to imagine that it has deployed two of the 4’s larger 148bhp units for a 296bhp total. Yeehaw.

Elsewhere it has given the 4 a helpful 15mm more ground clearance and fitted it with Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ tyres, while the track has been widened by 20mm on the front and rear axles. The wheels are still 18in items but they’re specific to this Savane. And yes, you do remember that name from an adventure-spec original Renault 4.

Renault reckons this concept is for “the modern-day gentleman explorer”, so it has genuinely been designed to head off the beaten track. We’re told that it’s “agile on muddy, snow-covered and unsurfaced routes” and that the bumpstops at the front and rear have been swapped out for new 3D-printed versions with shock-absorbing properties.

Unveiled at the Roland Garros French Open tennis tournament (very adventurous), the Savane 4x4 Concept also gets special Jade Green paint and a printed fabric roof. There’s also a brilliantly brown interior with some additional houndstooth action on the seats. Mmm, retro.