Radical Renault Filante goes 626 miles on a charge at motorway speeds

Renault’s groundbreaking Filante electric concept car has driven more than 1,000km (621 miles) on a single charge in an effort to prove that long ranges at motorway speeds are attainable.

The radical EV “lab on wheels” covered a total of 1,008km – 626.3 miles – without charging, travelling at an average speed of 62mph.

Renault says that at the end of the test, the Filante’s 87kWh battery still had 11% capacity remaining – enough to travel another 120km (74.5 miles) at more than 60mph.

The aircraft-inspired single-seater has been developed as a test bed for the latest EV technology and to maximise efficiency and minimise energy consumption. Weighing just 1,000kg it is constructed from ultra-light materials and 3D-printed components, and uses cutting-edge steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems to keep weight down.

Its most recent challenge – completed at the UTAC site in Morocco – was designed to prove that EV batteries can deliver long-distance capability even at real-world motorway speeds.

Renault noted: “If their only goal had been to drive the longest possible distance between charges, the designers and experts could have fitted the car with a huge battery or driven it in eco mode at 30 km/h (19mph) on average.

“But Renault was aiming much higher and tasked the drivers with keeping its average speed of over 110 km/h. The objective: to cover more than 1,000km in less than 10 hours, including technical stops and driver changes.

The car achieved that with room to spare, returning an average consumption of 8m/kWh as three test drivers covered 239 laps of the UTAC test circuit.

The Renault Scenic, which uses the same 87kWh battery, has an official range of 379 miles and a combined consumption figure of 3.7m/kWh.

The Filante was first revealed at the Rétromobile trade show in early 2025 and was inspired by previous record-breaking Renaults while drawing on aerospace and Formula 1 for its design. Months of wind tunnel testing refined the cigar-like shape and closed wheel fairings to optimise its aerodynamics in pursuit of battery efficiency.

“The overarching goal, from the first sketches to the final test-track drive, was absolute efficiency,” noted Sandeep Bhambra, Renault’s chief designer of advanced projects.

“That’s the hallmark of a record-breaking car – and it mirrors Renault’s pioneering spirit and tradition since its inception in 1898. A lot like the 1925 40 CV and the 1956 Étoile Filante, Filante Record 2025 was engineered to become the first road-worthy car to drive 1,000km at over 100 km/h without recharging. This accomplishment took a lot of exacting work on several fronts – ultra-efficient aerodynamics of course, the low-rolling-resistance tyres, the lightweight materials and advanced technical features. Teams of experts from Renault and its partners Michelin and Ligier worked on every aspect of Filante Record 2025’s design to demonstrate that electric vehicles can now travel long distances without recharging, even at sustained speeds.”