The Renault Zoe hatchback, a low-powered all-electric runabout, has about as little in common with Formula 1 cars as a Ford Fusion does with its NASCAR counterpart. But a racy-looking new concept version of the Zoe at the Geneva auto show highlights the little EV’s performance potential by connecting it with Renault’s efforts in the Formula E electric racing series.
The Renault Zoe e-sport concept features two electric motors, one in the front and one in the rear, making 456 horsepower and 472 lb-ft of torque in total. That’s a whole lot more than the 270-horse cap for Formula E race cars, and it?s a considerable amount of power for the roughly 3000-pound Zoe. A relatively large 40-kWh battery is responsible for a third of that mass, while a carbon-fiber body shell works to counteract the additional poundage. Renault claims a brisk zero-to-62-mph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph.
The Zoe e-sport concept is strictly a two-seater, and the interior is stripped out, with an F1-inspired squared-off steering wheel, a minimalist dashboard, and racing seats trimmed in grippy microsuede. We?re smitten with the exterior, which is aggressive and extreme with huge front air intakes, carbon-fiber-trimmed side vents, and sinister-looking covered taillights. It also sits considerably lower than the stock Zoe and uses the same Öhlins adjustable dampers as Renault?s extreme hot hatch, the Mégane R.S. 275 Trophy-R.

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