Is the Renault Zoe Star Wars edition the electric car for Han Solo?

Product tie-ins for Star Wars: The Last Jedi seem to have hit the market just in time for the holidays — along with the movie you’ve probably just seen — but there’s already a car that pays homage to next year’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. This is the creatively named Renault Zoe Star Wars edition.

The Renault Zoe is an electric car sold primarily in Europe (Boston-based nuTonomy has used them for autonomous test cars), but its maker seems to think it has the right name to have some tie-in with the expanding Star Wars franchise. Renault last sold cars in the US in the 1980s, possibly because lots of money was spent on getting Americans on board with the pronunciation of the French brand.

For the record, the Zoe was Europe’s best-selling electric car in 2016 and sports a range of up to 250 miles on the European Driving Cycle.

This tie-in isn’t so surprising since Renault’s partner, Nissan, has been in full Star Wars mode this fall after releasing a raft of The Last Jedi-themed show cars last month at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and having released a Nissan Rogue special edition for last year’s Rogue One. There are no throbbing strobe lights on this Renault, just some stickers that honor the Millennium Falcon, according to the company, as well as a purple motif on the dashboard. The car also comes with Wi-Fi, a backup camera, 17-inch wheels, and a Bose audio system, if that makes it feel any more special.

The Nissans were clearly made to be a more special than this electric Renault, but the difference is that you can actually buy one of these Zoe Star Wars models — if you act fast and live in France. All 1,000 examples are destined for that market and will be available to order in March, ahead of Solo’s premiere at the end of May.

I don’t know if I could ever see Harrison Ford’s Han Solo driving this Renault Zoe, though. Maybe Alden Ehrenreich, but we don’t know just yet.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/15/16782420/renault-electric-car-star-wars-edition-han-solo