These are the Top 7 cars set for a glorious comeback after previously being discontinued - starting with the reinvented Renault 5!
Renault has thrown the sheets off its all-electric new Renault 5 E-Tech, having reimagined a bona fide icon from the 70s and 80s.
Lease customers will be able to order one later this year, with deliveries arriving at the beginning of 2025, and the French firm’s designers have (in our view) absolutely nailed the styling.
There are plenty of design cues to trigger your nostalgia, particularly with the car’s distinctive rear end, while you can also expect a thoroughly modern range of up to 248 miles between charges as well as decent acceleration and power. You can read our full write-up of the new Renault 5 E-Tech via our news article.
But what about other vehicles that were once mothballed, only to be earmarked for a head-turning revival?
Check out some of the most anticipated arrivals below:
Vauxhall Frontera
The Frontera was a big, imposing SUV that appeared on Vauxhall forecourts between the early 1990s and the early Noughties.
It came as a result of a partnership between Vauxhall and Japan’s Isuzu and saw the Frontera taking the fight to other rugged off-roaders from Land Rover and Nissan.
While production of the Frontera ceased two decades ago, it still attracts a cult following, with various UK owners groups.
And in January this year, Vauxhall announced that the Frontera is being brought back from the dead - with electric and traditionally-fuelled variants due to be revealed later this year.
James Taylor, Managing Director, Vauxhall, said: “The name ‘Frontera’ is ideally suited to our exciting new SUV model. It will have a confident character and be positioned right in the core of the market.”
The Frontera will also be ‘affordable’ and designed for ‘customers with an active lifestyle and families alike’.
It’ll feature alongside Vauxhall’s other SUV offerings, including the Grandland.
Ford Capri
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When the Capri first arrived in the UK in 1969, jaws hit the floor.
It was Europe’s answer to the Ford Mustang, and those early examples were a joy to behold.
Ford said it was ‘the car you always promised yourself’, and described it as a ‘genuine fastback’ that ‘doesn’t cost a fortune’.
That winning formula continued right up until production ended in 1986.
The limited edition, V6-engined RS3100 was the Capri you wanted, coming with power of around 150 PS, while the later 2.8-litre Injection model (above) upped the oomph to 160 PS.
Since last year, rumours have been rife that Ford is about to rebirth the Capri - not as a sleek coupe, but as a fully-electric SUV (cue some former Capri owners turning in their grave).
Ford has been coy, thus far, describing any gossip as ‘total speculation’.
But it didn’t stop other major outlets spotting a Capri SUV seemingly being tested ahead of a proper reveal in 2024. So, watch this space!
MG Roadster
The phrases ‘MG’ and ‘two-seat roadster’ once went together like oil and spanners.
Just look at classic examples from yesteryear like the MG Midget, the MGB, and more recently the MGF and MGTF.
MG as we currently know it was established in 2009 having been acquired by Chinese heavyweights SAIC Motor, which has done some brilliant things with the brand (just look at the success of the MG4 EV.
And SAIC clearly hasn’t skipped its MG history lesson, as it’s about to launch a brand new two-seat roadster in the form of the incoming Cyberster.
It is, naturally, a fully-electric model with state-of-the-art exterior styling.
It was showcased at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland where MG confirmed that range-topping models will get power of 544 PS and a 3.2-second 0-62 mph time.
That’s quicker than MG roadsters of old, that’s for sure.
The Cyberster is expected to become available to lease this summer.
Vauxhall Manta
Like the Ford Capri (see above) the Manta was a 70s and 80s staple for families in need of affordable yet head-turning motoring. You can see the original shape in the snap, above, from 2021 when Vauxhall gave it the electric 'RestoMod' treatment.
And, like the Capri, Vauxhall is plotting a comeback for the Manta name in the form of a sporty, fully-electric SUV to rival the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Speaking in 2022, a Vauxhall spokesperson said: “A Manta, befitting the times we live in – emissions-free, versatile and a car that will appeal to the heart and mind. New Manta is set to be a fascinating and astoundingly spacious new interpretation of a classic.”
It’s been earmarked for a 2025 launch, but we should get further details later this year.
Toyota Celica
There’s a special place in the hearts of petrolheads for the much loved Toyota Celica.
The coupe was put out to pasture in 2006 having spanned seven generations and four decades in production.
Toyota has moved on to other super-sleek coupes like the GR Supra, while the recently-glimpsed FT-Se (above) appears to be a fully-electric rival to the Porsche Cayman.
But Toyota hasn’t given up on the Celica just yet, and the badge could well be revived in the next year or so.
In 2023, Toyota Akio Toyoda said he’d like to see a brand-new Celica in Toyota's line-up, sparking hopes of an imminent revival.
Only time will tell whether a new Celica slots into Toyota’s petrol-powered GR division, or whether it’ll be powered by batteries.
Volkswagen Scirocco
Like the Toyota Celica (above) the VW Scirocco is another sumptuous coupe that’s ripe for a reimagining having been dumped from the manufacturer’s roster in 2017.
Early design proposals for a brand new Scirocco were apparently developed early in 2023, according to a report in Autocar, and we may well hear concrete news on that front in 2024.
And, as you might expect, the plans are for the Scirocco to become a fully-electric sports coupe, potentially sharing a platform with battery-powered new versions of the Porsche Boxster and Cayman - with VW and Porsche forming part of the all-encompassing Volkswagen Group.
Here’s hoping for another raucous ‘R’ model.
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