Super-luxury Renault Rafale is the French president's new trump card

Many vehicles have been chosen to ferry the French president around in the past and now the Renault Rafale can be added to that list. Emmanuel Macron’s new car isn’t just any old Rafale either; it’s been specially designed by the Elysée Palace, Renault and French artisans.

The presidential Rafale was created by Renault’s design centre in Guyancourt, France, and comes with several suitably patriotic styling cues to ensure it looks the part during its governmental service. One of these is the French flag expanding out from the Renault badge in the grille, and the French tri-color on the doors. Plus there’s that essential prerequisite of presidential vehicles: removable flag holders. 

Renault has also gone to the trouble of incorporating cooling technology into the exclusive ‘Bleu Présidence’ paint finish that can limit heat absorption by 10C. The paint also includes a blue, white and red glitter effect. 

Whether it's Monsieur Macron or another lofty member of the French government, whoever is sitting in the back will find an “office on wheels”, according to Renault. For what we assume to be security interests, there are no full images of the Rafale’s rear sears, although we have been told there’s a ‘bespoke layout’. To our eyes the Rafale has also received a lengthened body to add rear legroom, though Renault is yet to confirm this.

However, we can see changes in the front, where black and white marble from the Pyrenees has been applied to the steering wheel, centre console and dashboard. The upholstery in the Presidential Renault Rafale also gets specially selected off-cuts of leather with red, white and blue stitching. On the headrests is a laser engraving of the French coat of arms. 

Instead of the full-hybrid model, the Presidential Renault Rafale is based on the plug-in hybrid 4WD 300, meaning it has a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol mated to three electric motors for 296bhp. It also means the presidential car has 65 miles of electric-only range (although the Rafale’s extra armour will add weight and surely lower the range somewhat), so it can just about travel from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the French parliament building and back on EV power. 

Renault has also tuned the Rafale’s chassis to focus on a “smooth, stable ride, even in urban environments”. The suspension set-up had to be recalibrated in order to counteract the extra weight of the car’s armour, which Renault has understandably been secretive about. The Rafale also gets 20-inch wheels with Michelin all-weather tyres and rear-wheel steer.

The Rafale isn’t the first Renault to get presidential preference. The partnership started way back in 1920 with the Renault 40 CV before the likes of the Reinastella, Safrane Limousine and Vel Satis were all used by France’s heads of state. 

Want to look like a world leader? Take a look at our latest deals on a new Renault Rafale, or find top prices on a used Renault Rafale.