For Francophile tradies with a penchant for Formula One racing, Renault Australia has brought back its dark and brooding ‘Formula Edition’ Trafic van.

Encouraged by the success of the sell-out special edition released last year, the French brand has ordered additional supplies for the 2018 model, which is available in short or long wheelbase guise – priced from $41,990 for the SWB and $43,490 for the LWB (plus on-road costs).

Buyers have the choice of either grey or black exterior colour – not run-of-the-mill white – while new LED daytime running lights combine with the Formula-themed modifications including black-painted 17-inch ‘Cyclade’ alloy wheels (with yellow centre caps), black Renault diamond bonnet badge, yellow upper and lower grille inserts, yellow foglamp surrounds, ‘Formula Edition’ side stripes, and body coloured front bumper, door rail and rear light surrounds.

An anti-theft spare wheel holder is also included.

The cabin has dark Java cloth upholstery, a heated driver’s seat, 7.0-inch touchscreen with navigation, deadlocking security system, LED ceiling lights, a wide-view mirror, more upmarket dashboard layout (with extra storage compartment), chrome-plated trim on various elements (instrument panel, speaker surround, gear selector, etc), gloss-black side air vent surrounds, a leather-clad gear shifter and ‘Formula Edition’ floor mats.

The Formula edition draws its power from Trafic’s 103kW/340Nm 1.6-litre twin-turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine mated solely to a six-speed manual transmission.