news

Dacia Duster Concept Lights Up Geneva

Great news! Renault’s low cost Romanian subsidiary Dacia will show its first-ever concept car at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
The Dacia Duster Concept takes the humble crossover and adds never-before seen levels of versatility and style.
The coupe-


Great news! Renault’s low cost Romanian subsidiary Dacia will show its first-ever concept car at the Geneva Motor Show this week.

The Dacia Duster Concept takes the humble crossover and adds never-before seen levels of versatility and style.

The coupe-like wagonoid Duster is obviously the stuff of designers’ dreams with long narrow headlamps running through the front guards and over the wheel arches, creating a band of light that stretches to the doors. The rear lamps, similarly wild, are set apart from the body in their own wings.

Inside, a passengers seat that folds under the driver’s seat, and a huge glass roof section complete the fantasy.

Despite all of this futuristic mumbo, motivation at least comes from a more ‘back to reality’ source, courtesy of Renault’s 1.5 litre dCi four cylinder diesel producing 77 kW and 240 Nm of torque from just 2000 rpm.

Fuel consumption is rated at 5.3 l/100 km and the 0-100 sprint can be achieved in 9.6 seconds while CO2 output is a respectable 139 g/km.

While the driver is treated to a single coupe-like door, the passenger’s side of the car features twin doors, with the sashless rear doors hinged at the back to allow ease of entry.

The blue and chocolate coloured interior makes use of flexible seating with a passengers seat mounted on rails to slide under the drivers seat.

In conjunction with a strap mounted beneath the dash, this allows the carriage of a mountain bike or similar sized luggage inside the car, rather than on top.

Clever storage spaces are hidden throughout the interior too, with a 20 litre glovebox available in the bellows-shaped dash, eight litre bins in each door, a compartment in the back of the right hand rear seat and a box which slides forward from the boot.

The concept also rides on 21 inch five-spoke alloy wheels with black detailing on the spokes and 245/35 ZR21 Michelin rubber all-round.

The iconic Dacia louvered grille also appears up front, and at the rear the Dacia logo is etched into the rear glass.

The Duster's boldest statement is reserved for its lighting with indicators that sit at the leading edge of the front guards and rear of the roof and those wild headlamps.

While we’re not likely to see the Duster on the roads any time in the future, it does represent an interesting look at where Dacia expects its design language to head in the future.

Keep an eye on TMR for more details as the car is officially revealed at the Geneva Motor Show over the next few days.

Gallery

PRESS RELEASE

DUSTER: THE CONCEPT CROSSOVER FROM DACIA UNVEILED AT GENEVA MOTORSHOW

• Dacia is breaking fresh ground and springs yet another surprise with the unveiling in Geneva

of Duster, a futuristic, image-building crossover that promotes the same values for which the

brand has stood from the beginning.

• Duster is Dacia's first concept car and the fruit of close collaboration between Renault Design

Central Europe in Bucharest, Romania, and Renault Design Technocentre in Guyancourt,

France.

• Duster's athletic stance adds an undeniable sporty feel to the brand's hallmark robustness.

• Inside, the use of colour, generous cabin space and an original modular layout ensure a

particularly convivial ambience for occupants.

ROBUST AND SPORTY

Duster – Dacia's first concept crossover – is proud to be different. Seen from the driver's side, it is visibly a

sporting coupé, yet passengers entering from the other side will see it as an MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) with

a traditionally opening front door and rear-hinged rear door which suggest plush travelling refinement.

Duster's height of 1.49 metres, short front and rear overhangs (65cm and 80cm respectively), generous

wheelbase (2.80m) and compact volumes (4.25m long, 1.64m wide) exude an overriding sense of robustness

and sports appeal.

The front end features a broad bumper with two horizontal air-intake slits that suggest power. The grille

features evident Dacia styling cues and is flanked by headlamps which wrap over the front wings to form a

tapering line of light that stretches rearward towards the doors.

Viewed from the side, the clear-cut lines of the wheel arches and tall doors reinforce the impression that

Duster sits squarely on the road. The Anthracite Grey bodywork and extensive one-piece glazed sweep –

made possible by the absence of a central pillar – highlights the styling of the sides which are unmistakably

reminiscent of Duster's graphic identity.

At the rear, the engraved Dacia logo further emphasizes the concept car's robust, dependable credentials.

Like Logan, Duster is just 4.25 metres long, and its inherent agility ensures that it is perfectly at home in the

urban jungle. Meanwhile, its 21-inch, five-spoke aluminium alloy wheels, exterior mirrors positioned on the

window surround and trapezoidal aluminium exhaust tailpipes are telltale signs of its sporting pedigree.

Special care has gone into Duster's aerodynamic efficiency (Cd: 0.30) and the fluid lines of the body sides

enable air to flow freely along the vehicle's flanks before being jettisoned through the rear lights. The

aerodynamic, wing-like forms of the roof-mounted direction indicators also channel airflow towards the rear.

The sum of all this work has naturally been beneficial to fuel consumption, and Duster stands out as a

particularly environmentally-respectful crossover. Despite its performance potential, the particulate filter-

equipped 1.5 dCi 105hp engine (77kW) emits just 139g of CO2/km, equivalent to fuel consumption of 5.3

litres/100km.

A CROSSOVER WITH DACIA HALLMARKS

This futuristic crossover showcases the brand's core values – namely simplicity, robustness and authenticity –

in a surprising form, yet Dacia's hallmark ingenuity and generosity are immediately apparent in the way

designers have approached Duster's cabin.

The concept car's two-tone chocolate and blue interior exudes a sense of well-being and conviviality. The fully

glazed roof floods the cabin with light, while the enveloping forms of the staggered slim-line front seats

provide first class comfort and support. The driver's seat is incorporated in a structure which extends all the

way from the sill to the centre console, forming a sculptural, one-piece ensemble that echoes the exterior's

sporty appeal.

The user-friendly dashboard features fluid, expressive lines while employing simple materials. The driver's

side front airbag is housed in the lower part of the steeringwheel which has made it possible to position the

screen centrally and free up appreciable stowage space on the dashboard. The latter's receding lines also

provide record kneeroom of 280mm for the front passenger who benefits from an exceptionally comfortable

seating position. The bellows-like form of the original two-tone dashboard incorporates a 20-litre glovebox,

while the door inserts each include eight-litre stowage bins. Another bin has been cleverly concealed in the

back of the rear right-hand seat. A simple push causes a box to slide forward from the boot which itself is in

total keeping with the Dacia spirit, with the upright tailgate providing a carrying capacity of 470dm3 (VDA), a

remarkable achievement for a vehicle of Duster's compact overall dimensions .

Duster is an adaptable, modular concept car. The four-seat 'daily driver' layout can be swiftly converted into a

leisure configuration in a matter of seconds. The passenger seat slides underneath the driver's seat on rails

concealed in the floor to leave just one front seat and consequently free up a total carrying volume of two

cubic metres. Thanks to a recess in the floor and a strap located under the dashboard, this space can be

used to carry a trials mountain bike.

Dimensions

Length (mm) 4,250

Width (mm) 1,640

Height (mm) 1,495

Overall width, doors open (mm) 4,285

Wheelbase (mm) 2,804

Front track (mm) 1,637

Rear track (mm) 1,640

Unladen weight (kg) 1,300

Boot volume (dm3 VDA) 470

Technical data

Engine type: dCi 105

Maximum power: hp (kW) 105 (77)

Maximum torque: (Nm) 240 at 2,000rpm

Acceleration from standstill to 100kph: (s) 9.6

CO2 emissions:

Combined cycle fuel consumption – 139g/km, equivalent to 5.3 litres/100km

Transmission: Manual six-speed gearbox

Tyres: 245/35 ZR21

Wheels: 21-inch diameter wheels

Partners

ProtoStyle Body styling

Michelin Tyres

Chat with us!







Chat with Agent