RMC DÉCOUVERTE – THURSDAY APRIL 13 – 9:10 PM – MAGAZINE
“It’s the first time we’ve been offered a new car! » The team of cheeky mechanics from “Vintage Mecanic” is surprising. For eight seasons, François Allain’s program has indeed presented the restoration of an old car every week – like the BMW Z3, on April 6th. However, there, they find themselves facing a 4L in new condition. For an unprecedented challenge: the Renault Classic subsidiary of the Renault group asked them to design a kit to convert this 4L internal combustion engine into an electric model – via the retrofit kit – so that it could be homologated, then presented at the Rétromobile show, and marketed. Renault representatives say they want to become “the first car manufacturer to get involved in the retrofitting of popular old vehicles”.
The proposal is flattering for “Vintage Mecanic”, but risky. The magazine has a loyal following, made up of lovers of “beautiful cars”, who appreciate the valves and the good humor of the team but mostly view electric cars with suspicion. Too smooth in their eyes, no smell of gasoline or engine noise.
Roll mechanics
François Allain embodies this audience: “Electric is not my thing at firsthe acknowledges. But if it’s that or nothing…” – implied: if, to be authorized to drive, an old car must be electrified, he is ready to try the experiment.
The staging remains unchanged: it rolls mechanics, it jokes, on rock’n’roll music… Ditto for the unfolding, which opens with auctions, to determine which of the three teams of experts in lice will win this “construction site”. Logically, Stéphane Wimez won the contract: the boss of the 2CV Méhari Club in Cassis (Bouches-du-Rhône) is one of the few retrofit specialists in France.
After a detour to the hangar of Flins-sur-Seine (Yvelines), where Renault stores his private collection, from the canonissime first French tank star of the Great War to the mythical F1 turbo of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, François Allain also adapts . He tumbles successively at the controls of an electric scooter, a “fat bike” (electric bike with big tires) and then a cargo bike. With interest, he discovers the 3D modeling of the car and follows the complex design, from the wiring to the positioning of the Power Box motor.
With good grace, he helps to reinforce the body, to install the 92 kilos (!) of batteries, and to design the important network of electric cables. Without staining: no more sludge! On the other hand, we do not joke here with security. This is also adapting.
But at what cost ! While the 2CV Méhari Club designs and installs a retrofit kit on a 4L for 16,000 euros, Renault has been selling it since February at 18,000 euros, installation included (on rfitvintage.com), i.e. “ from 11,900 euro [une fois déduite] the retrofit bonus of 6,000 euros paid by the State”.
Vintage Mechanical, directed by Karim Ben Mahmoud. From 6 a.m. on RMCBFMplay.