Rèmi Deconinck, director general of Renault Sport Technologies, has inadvertently let out some greatly anticipated news: the sports arm of the French company is seriously considering adopting a rear wheel drive system. It hasn’t been decided on which model but a new model for the technology has not been excluded.

In the course of a meeting with the English from evo, in which Deconinck had the opportunity to reinforce his preference for petrol rather than diesel engines and aspirated turbo, he underlined how true sports motors are those that are kept in the “red zone” of revs and revealed some news on Renault’s future technical choices.

According to Deconinch, thanks to the technology levels reached by manufacturers of tyres, we could soon be pushing 350 hp on rear wheel drive, without suffering from the typical understeering. And only ten or 15 years ago some performance levels were considered out of the question, which are now easily surpassed. But RS’s focus for most next generation models will be on reducing weight and improving chassis.

Continue reading: Rear wheel for Renault? Interview with Rèmi Deconinck

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Three new SUV’s from Renault are on the way. The first, available next June, will be the Koleos, the French-Korean SUV developed in conjunction with Samsung and presented recently.

Renault design manager Patrick Le Quement, stated on Autocar that the company would be looking to expand its offering with another two new SUVs and that the Koleos will remain at the centre of the range. One of these cars will be an addition to the Renault range, one will be a big brother to the Koleos and will likely use a similar platform to the future Nissan Murano. This will also be produced by Renault-Samsung in South Korea.

Via | Autocar

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After the relatively quiet debut at the Geneva show, Renault is revealing new technical data and photos of its Laguna Gt, all-wheel steering version that has already been ordered by more than 50,000 customers across Europe.

The model’s main innovation is the 4 Wheel Steering system called “Active Drive“, looking for new life after years being in the dark: up to 60km/hr the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front ones with a maximum angle of 3.5°.

Continue reading: New image galler for the Renault Laguna GT

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Unfortunately the near 100-year tradition of Aston Martin will have to take a step back: Ulrich Bez, desginated administrator of the British company, has announced that the production of the Aston Martin Rapide will occur outside the United Kingdom’s borders. Manufacturing will be trusted to Magna Steyr, who will assmeble the berlina-coupè at its facility in Graz, Austria.

Bez has also suggested that the production (estimated at over 2000 units a year) will start sometime in the next year with quality standards similar to Gaydon. Gaydon, Aston Martin’s historic locus amoenus in Warwickshire, has in fact reached saturation point, with 8,000 cars produced annually. And it’s not capable of quickly accommodating the annual production of the 2000 Rapide that Aston Martin is expecting to sell. Obviously, Bez also reinforced that he believes in the capability of Magna Steyr to offer levels of construction quality equal to those of Gaydon.

Via | Caradvice (Thanks Reggiani)

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The ’60’s Alpine was an icon for French and international sport cars enthusiasts, and in AutoExpress‘ opinion the charming coupè could soon have a heir.

According to a Renault insider, the new car is going through the development tests and will be on sale in 2010. Rumors say that it will probably have a small turbocharged gasoline which will follow the current downsizing trend. Some say (and we hope it’s true…) that the unit will be in mid-rear position, in order to enhance the driving experience.

The only clues we have nowadays are a few pictures of some Renault Megane-shaped test-mules while lapping on the ‘Ring that very likely hide the next Alpine’s mechanichs.

Continue reading: Is the Renault Alpine coming back?

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A new Renault coupè is coming, based on the Laguna III. An image was seen during the presentation of the new saloon, and Car Magazine got a snap. Then, someone from the Planète Renault forums managed to make a full view of the rear of the upcoming coupè. We should hear more about it in Frankfurt next month, but a concept version should be shown at the next Geneva auto show (march ‘08) and the production version should be shown in Paris next autumn.

The ispiration for the design of the coupè should come from the 2004 Fluence concept.

From a mechanical standpoint there should be no major differences between the Laguna III and the new coupè, besides, probably, a better choice of top engines: the 2.0-liter turbo engines (diesel with 148 ps, gasoline with 168 ps) should be joined by a new 3.0-liter turbodiesel unit outputting 240 ps and the 3.5 V6 engine of the 350Z, the Nissan cousin of this new coupè. Prices should start from 30.000 €.

Via | Car Magazine

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Renault has released a couple of pictures of the new Clio Estate, the station wagon version of the Clio hatchback, announcing that it will be showing the Clio Estate for the first time at the next Frankfurt auto show.

The Clio Estate is the production version of the Clio Grandtour concept that was shown at the last Geneva auto show. The Clio Estate has 5 doors instead of the three of the Grandtour, a panoramic glass roof that is not integral with the windshield and no LED headlamps.

Compared to the hatchback, the Clio Estate will be 23 cm longer (4,20 meters overall) and it will have a trunk with a capacity of 438 liters (+131) that grows to 1.275 with the rear seats lowered.

The engine range of the Clio Estate should be pretty much the same as that of the hatchback, which has 5 gasoline engines (from 75 to 197 ps) and 3 diesel engines (from 68 to 106 CV).

The main rival of the Clio Estate will be the Peugeot 207 SW. Sales start in the first quarter of 2008.

Continue reading: Renault Clio Estate in Frankfurt

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From the index of the next issue of Auto Bild, a photo of the Renault Z20 Concept: a long and sleek cabriolet that has something of a “soap-bar on wheels” look. Waiting for higher-resolution images to get a better idea of how this car looks like.

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A spy-shot of the upcoming Dacia Logan hatchback has surfaced. The styling is singular, with its truncated tail and almost non-existent rear overhang. Not much else is known, beside the rumours that it will be built in Brazil, [From the Softpedia forums].

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Renault will show the Altica Concept in Geneva, its variation on the Shooting Brake theme. It starts as a sporty coupè, it ends with the tail of a station wagon. A muscular station wagon, thinning towards the rear end, with bulging wheel lodgings.

The engine is the new 2.0 turbodiesel with 177 hp. Thanks to a weight of 1.300 kg, the Altica can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, while limiting average consumption to 5.3 liters / 100 km.
[From Racewaynews]

Continue reading: Renault Altica Concept - a french shooting-brake

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