2004 Renault Radiance

Renault Trucks makes the case for its creative identity.

Renault Trucks has committed to a development process focusing on all its product and service ranges.

By capitalising on the cultural heritage of the brand, based on the three key values of efficiency, care and innovation, the company's Marketing and Products teams have put their heads together to conjure up what they imagine to be a 'dream truck', outlining long-term trends both for driver comfort and safety and to enhance long-distance transport operators' productivity and image.


Radiance is an extension of experiments led in the past through Virage, VHS and, more recently, the LCV concept styling survey presented last year at the Amsterdam show.


By allowing themselves substantial room for imaginative manœuvre to explore all the creative avenues open to them, the teams were able to overcome a whole raft of industrial, regulatory and commercial restrictions. The objective defined for this project was first and foremost to represent our philosophy, meaning that we wanted to identify a unique 'genetic code', a product of the creative know-how of the men and women of Renault Trucks.

This cultural identity is the perfect driving force to inject a vision and energy that serves the whole of the company, ensuring a bright future for Renault Trucks and its networks.

A fruitful relationship with Renault Design

Stylistic innovation was the central theme of the discussions led with the Renault Design teams. Within the framework of their close, long-standing relationship, Patrick le Quement's industrial design team were asked to take an active role in the project.

The stylistic choices made provide ambitious contributions, clearly stating Renault Trucks' determination to be recognised as out-and-out leader in the field of commercial vehicle design.

As applies to all Renault's concept cars, Radiance is an accelerator of ideas which is destined to help the Renault Design people to develop a unique and attractive formalised message.

The exterior design is coherent both in terms of the personality of our existing ranges and with the styling of the other products put on the market by Renault Trucks. Its resolutely modern design projects a level of aerodynamics which suggests that it has been fashioned out by the wind, sketching easily identifiable and automatically memorable images on the mind. The strong features behind this impression include the shape of the front grill and the muscular volume of the arched wing, reinforcing the visual identity of Renault Trucks.

Expressed in simple terms from the various different angles, this aesthetic theme is carried through in the minutest details of headlight styling and the coupling device at the rear of the cab.

The interior design offers comfort and safety, and beyond the simple well-being of the driver, brings a heightened level of efficiency in the completion of his mission.

The interior design, with its simple movement, projects a feeling of serenity whilst offering us glimpses of high-tech equipment without the potentially stressful side of such gadgetry.

The new driving position provides a level of comfort, safety and ergonomics which has never before been seen in the market for heavy-duty trucks. This innovative approach is delivered according to the 'Touch Design' philosophy, which is systematically adapted to all Renault vehicles. This approach allows us to incorporate the desired level of technical complexity into our vehicles whilst keeping them easy and enjoyable to use. The intelligence and pertinence of a control's shape inevitably leads to its intuitive use; this is what Renault Design likes to call 'simplexity'.

Particular attention has been paid to the cab's interior lighting. Light defines the different zones of the cab by creating varied ambiances and divides them up according to their different types of use. Also, lighting is a way of laying a unique and highly visible trademark on the vehicle as seen from the outside.


Services and solutions that are really something new…

Radiance includes a number of innovations that people dream of seeing in production vehicles in the near or not-so-distant future.

In particular, the visionary design of the front end includes large air inlets to allow optimum cooling of the engine which is more powerful, quieter and cleaner than ever before.

Numerous cameras mounted on aerodynamic supports allow optimal visibility all around the driving position, from front to back, cutting out all the blind spots and enhancing safety still further.

The ultra-modern front lights, with highly purified lines, give out powerful directional lighting adapted to a variety of driving situations (urban, motorway, fog).

The big rear lights get progressively brighter as braking gets harder. Following vehicles thus receive clearer messages and can react more quickly for everybody's safety.

An ingenious system of foldaway steps gives perfect access to the vehicle… as easy as going up a staircase.


For added comfort and safety, there's no need for a key. With a simple card in his pocket, the driver can start the vehicle. Access locking and unlocking is automatic.

Radiance testifies to a highly sensitive approach to the design of the driving position and to life on board

Life inside the cab is organised around three complementary concepts:
- Drive it like a car
- Work like you're in the office
- Live like you're at home

The driver feels like he's at the wheel of a car... sitting behind a small steering wheel, with all the controls within reach thanks to the ergonomic dashboard and a retractable gear stick.

All the controls have been simplified to optimise the interface with the machine: the parking brake is automatic and only the most frequently-used functions appear on the dashboard. The two-part electronic display panel gives key information on a screen behind the steering wheel.


Secondary information and controls are accessible on a multimedia screen on the dashboard which also accommodates telematic and leisure functions.
When the driver is not driving, the driving position simply folds away to offer maximum space in the cab. 'Steer-by-wire' technology which eliminates the steering column provides more room under the steering wheel and makes for added safety in the event of an accident (because the steering column is not physically in the cab).

The exceptionally generous glazing, which is adjustable in opacity, allows optimal visibility and pleasant lighting whatever the conditions. For night driving, the particularly sophisticated lighting creates a warm ambience.


Radiance , the latest 'Dream Truck' from Renault Trucks is the personification of the vision and personality of a daring brand, which fills all of us with hope for bright, long-distance future.

Source - Renault Press