BARGAIN BEAUTIES

2001 RENAULT AVANTIME

“This is a love-it-or-hate-it design,” Stephenson says. “The designer, Patrick Le Quément, is an architecture and boating enthusiast, and it shows in the Avantime. It has flying buttresses, shapes we hadn’t seen on a car before and a geometric look that was helped by the two-tone colour.

“Nobody puts an A-pillar ahead of the front axle, but they did it. Frameless windows were unusual on a big car but look fantastic when done right. The rear glass is amazingly curved – I don’t know how they did it – and the tail-lights were another madman-or-genius touch. They look pinched near the top then expand again, like a venturi effect.

“If I saw one today, I would think it were from the future. It had me thinking Renault was going in a new, architectural direction, but they dropped it like a hot stone.”

One we found 2003 Avantime 3.0 V6 Privilege, 95k miles, auction estimate £3500-£4500