Are there too many retro EVs?

Everyone wants a piece of the Renault 5's secret sauce, if a bumper Paris Motor Show is anything to go by...

By Cam Tait / Friday, 16 October 2026 / Loading comments

It’s been quite some time since a motor show has given us something to get excited about. That’s exactly what we’ve got from this year’s Paris show, much of it coming from the many, many brands under the Stellantis umbrella. These weren’t a bunch of pie-in-the-sky studies that’ll never see the light of day, either, save for the Vauxhall STX concept, which is explicitly a preview of the firm’s new design language. Trouble is, a good chunk of what’s been shown follows the same philosophy that’s proved so successful for Renault: reimagining a bunch of retro icons as electric cars. It’s easy to see why, given the success of the R5, but with so many manufacturers now following suit, could we soon see EV throwback fatigue set in? That’s one for this week’s episode of The Gassing Station podcast.

Arguably the most exciting of the lot is Peugeot’s e-T16 concept, which, you guessed it, is an all-electric reboot of the firm’s legendary Group B special. It’s a carbon-bodied, 816hp hyper hatch that may very well go up against the Renault 5 Turbo 3E if production gets the green light. And even if it doesn’t, we should see some bits and pieces from the e-T16 make their way over to the next e-208, which would be no bad thing. What has been given the green light, though, is the new electric 2CV. While there’s more than a hint of Little Tikes about the red concept car with its white wheels, the production version is slated to cost less than £15,000, making it a more jovial alternative to the electric Panda, which is itself a throwback to the '80s original.

And it doesn’t stop there. Peugeot has revived the RCZ name with an all-electric, two-door coupé concept, featuring the same silhouette and double-bubble roofline as the original, while Alpine’s new A310 Vision is a striking homage to its old 2+2. Alfa Romeo, meanwhile, has something different to offer with its Cuorerosso, which previews the looks of the Giulia’s successor. Not only that, but it’ll be offered with a hybrid V6, meaning it should sound just as good as it looks. So while there’s no shortage of retro electric concepts in Paris, the future isn’t entirely anchored in '80s nostalgia.

Amid all the Paris news, PHer Fred Smith is looking for the best daily performance car to fit some “very specific circumstances”. You can see the full criteria here, but they’re essentially looking for an array of fun daily cars to fit various budgets. For the £5k option, Sam has wisely chosen this 2003 Toyota MR2, while I’ve gone for this very lovely Alfa Romeo GTV. The sub-£40k category includes my immaculate E46 BMW M3 and a Renaultsport Megane R26.R for Sam, and the top £70k budget gets Sam an original NSX while I’ve gone for a TVR Tuscan S. Who needs electric throwbacks when you can buy the real deal, anyway?

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