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Nice, that kickdown and that turning circle, but…

Shall we talk about the outside for a moment?

From the men in my life, I've received quite a bit of tutoring so that I understand the basics of what excites men. With two fingers in my nose, I can explain to you what offside is, and I also know that the more horsepower a car has (and cylinders too), the faster it is. I also know what they mean by ‘torque‘, and I have a few other terms (’kickdown‘ always works well, for example) that I know will quickly impress car guys.

But I stick to the outside, so when someone has a new car, my first and most pressing question remains: what color did you choose? Fortunately, I don't have to be ashamed of that at Renault because a. they know me a bit and b. design is just as important to them as a fast and economical engine and a tiny turning circle.

”In the automotive industry, he is a kind of pop star whose schedule is really planned down to the minute”

The head of design at Renault is a Dutchman, and we can be quite proud of that. In the automotive industry, he is a kind of pop star whose schedule is really planned down to the minute. I met him last year (very nice, charming, handsome, and living in Paris. Moreover, I was in love with his custom-made sneakers, for which he designed a matching pair for each Renault model) where every minute was truly well spent. When he had to take a photo, he took out his folder with cards and mobile from his inner pocket and handed it to his assistant so that his tailored suit wouldn't get ‘wrinkled’. You are head of design or you are not, of course.

The latest masterpiece of Laurens van den Acker is the Renault Talisman. The luxury horse of the Renault stable. I have here and here written why it is such a comfortable car (with a very fast kickdown, by the way), but since the eye also wants something, I will now polish my trumpet.

”The Talisman had to be sensual but at the same time radiate class and power”

The Talisman had to be sensual but at the same time radiate class and power. Due to the lines on the side, it has a kind of waist, but it especially has a lot of class. When you drive up in it, you always hear someone say ‘oh’ and ‘ah’. The car is wide and has a lot of chrome, and what I also find incredibly nice is that the lights run horizontally, which further emphasizes the car's ‘posture’. The LED lighting is always on during the day, and it even looks like the car has shoulders. At the back, the lighting is also completely spread out (in 3D even, which is a real innovation) and the lights both beautifully point towards the Losange, or the Renault logo.

Laurens van den Acker likes to see his models as people. He also told me that his most beautiful specimens travel the world like a kind of top models perfectly fits my idea of the ideal car. That is your buddy (after all, you spend two hours a day in it), with a name, a face, and in this case, a particularly good figure.