RENAULT has announced the name of its future top-of-the-range coupe SUV which will be called the Rafale.

The Rafale completes the French brand's line-up powered by E-Tech hybrid engines and built on the CMF-CD platform.

Following on from the Austral SUV, the Rafale will be Renault's new flagship model and will boost its offensive in the large SUV segment.

The name is inspired by Renault's celebrated past in the air when Renault was linked to aviation in the early part of the last century.

At the time, Renault was a pioneering manufacturer of combustion engines for cars, as well as for trains and planes.

In 1933, Renault took over Caudron, another aircraft manufacturer, and established Caudron-Renault. All the planes were named after a notable wind.

Accordingly, the C460, a single-seater racing plane engineered to break records, was renamed Rafale in 1934.

Renault is reconnecting with its history and harnessing the legendary Caudron Rafale's features in a new high-end car.

The semantics point to wind and capture something about its camouflaged silhouette, which Renault says conjures up visions of performance, daring, excitement and character.

The new Renault Rafale's world premiere will take place at the 54th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget in Paris on June 18.