Yesterday we showed you the official pics of the Renault Wind Gordini edition by Gibson guitars. Well, it seems like the Wind was lucky to get the logos and guitars to show off with as The Truth about Cars reports that the prestigious instrument manufacturer has been the victim of two US goverment raids in as many years, over legislation about the documentation of all raw materials in manufacturing.
According to search warrants provided at the raid, Gibson Guitars is accused of illegally shipping timber for its fretboards. You can check out The Tennessean for an explanation on the complicated legal machinations behind it all, but it says:
Hundreds of items were seized from Gibson’s Nashville facilities including rosewood and ebony in various forms, shipping documents, travel records, guitars including several Les Pauls, product specifications and hard drives, according to the search warrant. A Memphis facility was also raided Wednesday.
While TTAC drew a long bow on the connection between the Gibson guitar raids and the car world (saying that the legislation applies to cars as well - so you’d better have a long list documenting the materials of everything your Renault is made of), you’ve got to wonder what’s in that guitar-stringed upholstery. On a serious note, as a music lover and Gibson fan, here’s hoping the accusations are unfounded and the great guitar-making tradition continues.
The one-off Renault Wind Gordini by Gibson guitars has been revealed on the occasion of the Rock En Seine Festival. I’m not personally thrilled about the Renault-Gibson collaboration but the fact that the car is a Gordini version and the guitar one of the great instruments of the world kind of helps things.
The Wind Gordini by Gibson appears in the classic Gordini blue with white racing stripes, and the Gibson side of things is seen on the interior with exclusive leather seats with integrated guitar strings, Gibson logos, lacquered black and chrome trim in the style of an electric guitar and a guitar potentiometer volume knob.
Gibson in turn has created five 1961 Gibson SG guitars with Gordini colouring to celebrate, one of which will be given away at the festival to a solo guitar player, with the winner determined by internet voting.
Renault has announced an agreement with the Gibson electric guitar brand to produce a new concept, which will be called the Renault Gordini by Gibson. The new Gordini prototype will debut on August 26th at the Rock en Seine music festival in northern France.
Does this mean we will see guitar-themed interiors? We don’t know because there aren’t any real details to it. Even which Renault model will be used - a Clio, Megane or a Wind - hasn’t been revealed yet, and if we stick to the electric theme, we could even see Gibson lend its name to a new, sporty Gordini electric vehicle.
The Gordini Facebook page bearing the news does talk of a presentation with Renault’s interior design chief, so for the moment we’ll stick to out first idea, but all will be revealed in August.
Source | Facebook