Renault Filante Record 2025 : a name that is doubly meaningful
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Two prestigious sources of inspiration for an ambitious vehicle. Renault Filante Record 2025 is a demo car revealed today by the brand. The name is inspired by two Renault vehicles from the past: the 40 CV des Records and the Étoile Filante (shooting star). These single-seater “record chasers” won a string of accolades for speed and endurance in the 1920s and 1950s respectively. Today, Renault Filante Record 2025 – an electric demo car – is out to set new records for efficiency. Sylvia dos Santos, Head of Naming Strategy with Renault’s Global Marketing Division, explains how this name highlights the brand’s pioneering spirit and capacity for innovation.
Emmanuel Genty
A laboratory on wheels for aerodynamics, technologies and innovation, the Renault Filante Record 2025 demo car is designed to push the limits of efficiency. In the first half of 2025, it will aim to set new records for power consumption and range. It takes its unusual “double name” from two of the most iconic “record chasers” in Renault's history: the 40 CV des Records and the Étoile Filante.
“In this centenary year of the first records claimed by the 40 CV des Records, our Renault Filante Record 2025 demo car is a direct tribute to the heritage of the brand, which has always used motorsports and records as a way to drive technological innovation and future developments. »
Sylvia dos Santos
Head of Naming Strategy, Global Marketing Division, Renault
The Étoile Filante, built for speed
The name Filante is inspired by the Étoile Filante, the single-seater presented to the press on 22 June 1956 at the Montlhéry autodrome outside Paris. In september, it set the following speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the United States:
- 306.9 km/h over one kilometre
- 308.85 km/h over five kilometres
- 307.7 km/h over one mile
- 280.8 km/h over five miles
The Étoile Filante borrowed most of its aerodynamic components, such as the two tail fins, from the world of aeronautics. This exceptional racing car was built around an ultra-powerful turbine, developing 270 hp at 28,000 rpm and running on kerosene. It had a tubular polyester-clad body, with a single-gear Transfluide transmission that would later be adapted in semi-automatic form for the Frégate. As well as raising Renault's profile, particularly in the USA, the Étoile Filante enabled the brand to make progress in studying the handling and braking of a slender vehicle travelling at very high speeds.
“In addition to these historical and technical aspects, the name Filante in French comes from the verb ‘filer’, meaning 'to spin, to stretch, to lengthen’. In this way, it echoes the long, slender silhouette of our concept and the meticulous attention that went into every detail of its finely honed bodywork. Synonymous with lightness, speed and efficiency, the name Filante also brings to mind shooting stars, space, and the world of aeronautics,” explains Sylvia.
The 40 CV des Records combines speed with endurance
The name Record refers to the 40 CV des Records, single-seater vehicle with streamlined bodywork that was narrower than the 40 CV, Renault’s flagship model at the time. The 40 CV des Records established a string of speed and endurance records in 1925 and 1926. In fact, the date 2025 in the name of Filante Record 2025 name marks the centenary of these records set in 1925.
On 11 May 1925 at the Montlhéry track, the first version – a Type ML with open torpedo bodywork – set the following records, with engineers Garfield and Plessier at the wheel:
- Average speed over 3 hours
- Average speed over 500 km
- Average speed over 500 miles
The car went on to establish other records, but its greatest achievement was the record set at the Montlhéry 24-hour event on 9 July 1926 with Garfield, Plessier and Guillon at the wheel: 4,167.578 km at an average speed of 173.649 km/h. For this event, they drove a 40 CV des Records Type NM with a closed body and synthetic leather body panels over a wood and mesh structure. Under the bonnet was a mighty inline 6-cylinder engine of over 9,000 cm3 developing 150 bhp.
The name Record also brings to mind the lesser-known Nervasport des Records. On 4 and 5 April 1934, this vehicle set no fewer than nine international records and three world records, including the 48-hour record for 8,037 km driven at an average speed of 167.445 km/h.
100 years of records and 100 years of diamond-shaped logo
“Today, we're reviewing our approach to the concepts of boundaries and performance, updating them for modern times. With the Filante Record 2025, we're no longer talking about speed or endurance records, but about efficiency and lightness, so we can rethink the future of electric vehicles,” continues Sylvia, who is keen to share one last historical anecdote. “The name is also a nod to the brand identity, which is extremely important to us” she says, before adding: “In 1925, Renault adopted a diamond-shaped logo to replace the circle previously used. The 40 CV des Records was one of the first vehicles to feature the new diamond-shaped logo.” Just like the records we mentioned earlier, the diamond logo is also celebrating its centenary this year. So it was definitely a good idea to add this year’s mention to the name of the demo-car!
