Renault LeCar, page #26

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Ecclestone wonders if F1's upcoming turbo V6s should get augmented sound [w/videos]

While every team on the Formula One grid is worried about making a good showing in this year's championship at the same time as they develop a brand-new car for next year's championship, Bernie Ecclestone and F1 circuit promoters have a different concern: how next year's cars will sound. The current cars use 2.4-liter, naturally-aspirated V8s that can reach 18,000 revolutions per minute and employ dual exhaust, next year's engine formula calls for 1.4-liter turbocharged V6s that are capped at 15,000 rpm and are constrained to a single exhaust outlet. Ecclestone and promoters like Ron Walker believe the new engines sound like lawnmowers and that the less thrilling audio will keep people from coming to races. If Walker's Australian Grand Prix really is shelling out almost $57 million to hold the race, every ticket counts. As a fix, according to a report in Autoweek, Ecclestone "suggests that the only way to guarantee [a good sound] may be to artificially adjust the tone of the V6s."
However, neither the manufacturers nor the governing body of F1, the FIA, think there will be a problem. Ecclestone fears that if the manufacturers "don't get it right" they'll simply leave the sport, but the only three carmakers and engine builders left next year, Renault (its 2014 "power unit" is pictured), Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari are so embedded that it would stretch belief to think they'd leave the table over an audio hiccup - if said hiccup even occurs. And frankly, these issues always precede changes to engine formulas, as they did when the formula switched from V10 to V8; fans, though, are probably less focused on the engines and more on the mandated standardization of the sport and the spec-series overtones that have come with it.
No one knows yet what next year's engines will sound like, but we've assembled a few videos below to help us all start guessing. The first is an engine check on an Eighties-era John Player Special Renault with a 1.5-liter V6 turbo, after that is Ayrton Senna qualifying in 1986 in the Lotus 98T that also had a 1.5-liter V6 turbo, then you'll find a short with a manufactured range of potential V6 engine notes, and then the sound of turbocharged V6 Indycars testing last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Any, or none of them, could be Formula One's future.

Renault A-110 revival also planned in... Mexico?

Bulgaria, Brazil and Mexico were three of the countries licensed to build the Alpine A110 under license in the sixties and seventies. With the revival of the former Renault rally racing brand, Mexico, whose Dinalpin sold the earlier iteration, wants to do it again - but this time with no connection to the parent company. It's called Project SST-77 and it is being headed by Miguel Jimenez, with the aims of developing a "low capacity, low weight, agile, high performance" sports car.
The ultimate plan is to put a new fiberglass body designed by Alejandro Castañeda on top of a chassis being laid out by Mexican Auto Design, headquartered in the same city where Dinalpin fabricated Alpines decades ago. There's no timeline and no other details about what's going into the project, but we'll keep an eye out for any updates.

Renault sells French sex appeal with stripped-down dancers, 'va va voom' button

This commercial starts off quietly enough, with some potential customers arriving at a Renault dealership in England for a test drive of the new Clio compact with a salesman. The drive route takes them to a nondescript intersection where the customer is told to try out the "Va Va Voom" button, and that's where the Frenchy action begins when a pop-up theatrical production materializes around the car, with everything from baguette-selling cart pushers to young lovers in the crosswalk to burlesque dancers putting on a show.
And in case beautiful women strutting around in lingerie isn't really your thing, there's a more dude-centric version below, too. You can check them both out by scrolling below, but be aware, the vids might be Not Safe For Work.

Evidence of Renault 5 revival discovered during commercial shoot

Renault has exceptional plans for this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, bringing six classic cars, four Formula One cars from this year's season and three current offerings. It will also be showing off two brand-new concepts, one of them gasoline-powered and another that's purely electric, and it's possible that the ICE concept has been spotted in Madrid on a video shoot. If so, it would be appear to be a fresh take on the Eighties-era Renault 5 that would look very nice next to the 1984 Renault 5 Maxi that will be at Goodwood.
Some Spaniards with camera phones caught a little blue Renault hatchback with a number "5" on its flanks and a giant wing hanging off the back. Renault has to have expected someone to catch it in photos, not because it was working with a camera truck but because it was doing donuts in an intersection and spitting out a murderous exhaust note. It might actually have nothing to do with the Goodwood concepts, but the coincidence of a classic Renault 5 showing up in England does provide a potential connection.
Elsewhere in the stand from July 11 to 14 Renault will have a 1920 Renault Type K, a 1926 Renault 40CV, the first turbocharged F1 car, the 1978 RS01, the Alpine that won Le Mans in 1978 and a Groupe 5 Alpine A310 rally car, Kimi Räikkönen's Australian F1 Grand Prix-winning Lotus E21, the Red Bull RB9, Caterham CT03 and Williams FW35. Among current offerings will be the Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC, Captur crossover and all-electric Zoe. Find out more about all of them in the two videos and the press release below.

Renault's planned luxury sub-brand gets reconsidered

Renault believes there's enough Alpine love to restart that brand with its own model almost immediately. The launch of the Initiale Paris luxury brand it's been mulling, on the other hand, will be more restrained: a report in Autocar says that instead of launching with a first model based on the Mercedes E-Class architecture, Renault is going to introduce an Initiale Paris trim line on the new Clio and Espace. More accurately, that should be 're-introduce and aggressively market,' since Renault has used an Initiale Paris trim over the years since it introduced the concept car (pictured) in 1995, even as recently as the current-generation Laguna Coupe.
Other models will be added after the Clio and Espace, and when Renault can assess what kind of future the trim has, it will decide on the launch of a subsidiary brand. Company CEO Carlos Tavares said we shouldn't hang around waiting for a decision, though, declaring that establishing such a brand - if it even comes to that - "will be a job for at least my successor to worry about, not me."

Alpine unveils N36 LMP2 car that will race in 24 Hours of Le Mans

This is the Alpine LMP2 competitor you'll see contesting European endurance races this year, including The 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Parent company Renault showed off the N36 racer at its atelier in Paris, the blue and orange a switch from the yellow, black and white livery Alpine wore last time it was seen in Le Mans way back in 1978 when it won the race.
The team will be run by Signatech-Nissan and the chassis will be powered by a Nissan engine. Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues will contest World Endurance Championship rounds throughout the year, they'll be joined by endurance and IndyCar veteran Tristan Gommendy for Le Mans and Paul-Loup Chatin as the team's reserve driver.
The Alpine N36 will get into its first test this week at Paul Ricard, then experience its first racing miles at the European Le Mans Series round at Silverstone on April 13. The press release below has the full scoop, the photos above have the past and present in high-res glory.

Renault teases new Ross Lovegrove-influenced concept car

Renault has teamed up with British designer Ross Lovegrove to create a new concept car that hints at the future styling direction for the French automaker. The yet-to-be-named car will be unveiled at the Triennale of Milan on April 8, and it will be on display unit the 14th.
Although the automaker has not released any details about the car, it did say that the concept's design has been heavily influenced by elements of nature. This includes details like the ripples in some of the body components and branch-like features on the wheels and what appears to be either a fog light or a speaker grille. Sounds interesting, and we'll know soon enough how the whole package will take shape.
Scroll down for the official press release.

Renault taking Alpine endurance racing, enters 24 Hours of Le Mans

Renault isn't letting up with the return of its Alpine brand. After announcing a partnership with Caterham to bring a new Alpine to market by 2015 (now expected by 2016), the French firm has announced it is taking Alpine racing again in the European Le Mans Series this year - and that includes The 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It has been 35 years since Alpine last competed in Le Mans, when it won the race outright and dropped the mic as it left the pits, never to return. Before that, in the 11 years it campaigned in the most famous endurance race on the planet from 1963 to 1978, it took seven class wins.
Caterham won't be involved with the race team, however; that will be an effort spearheaded by the Signatech-Nissan team that has been running GT Academy winners in LMS racing. Alpine is preparing an LMP2 chassis that will get a 500-horsepower Nissan engine for this year's championship, with the first two named drivers being Nelson Panciatici (above right) and Pierre Ragues (above left). The third driver for Le Mans will be announced later this month when the racer is launched at the Le Castellet race track in southern France.

2013 Renault Captur features zip-off seat covers, crisper drawer glovebox [w/videos]

Evidently, Renault's executives in France have not been content to sit idly by as their alliance partners at Nissan have happily mopped up enviable global sales totals with their Juke crossover. We've been hearing about an answer from Renault for some time now, and the production Captur is finally a reality at the Geneva Motor Show.
Packing what it says is the styling and driving position of an SUV, the configurable interior of a minivan and the driving verve of a small sedan, the Captur is hoping to become a big-volume player in Europe's mushrooming small CUV class that also includes cars like the Škoda Yeti. Less boxy than its Czech rival, the Captur's fluid styling is also unlikely to furrow as many brows and wrinkle as many noses as the love/hate Juke. And taking a page from the Mini playbook, Captur will offer a contrasting roof paint color to increase personalization possibilities. Even if it lacks some of the visual charisma (and the butterfly doors) of the 2011 Captur concept, we think it's a very handsome package overall, one we wouldn't mind seeing in North America.
Clever details abound in the interior - check out the videos below - including a large crisper-drawer-like glovebox and trick washable seat covers that zip off and can be changed depending on one's mood.

Renault Sc'enic minivan crosses over with new Xmod variant

Renault has given us all the goods on its newest crossover, the Scénic Xmod, one month in advance of the vehicle's world debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The Xmod seeks to punch up the Scénic line of small MPVs with all-wheel drive and slightly butched up looks. (It's a formula that has panned out well for the French automaker before, with the likes of the Scénic RX4 and Scénic Conquest, for what it's worth.)
Visually, the Xmod takes us on a trip to crossover land, with increased ride height, beefier front and rear bumpers, side sill guards and a pair of utile, chrome-finished roof bars. Special alloy wheels and a set of LED daytime running lights complete the visual package.
Renault is also touting the use of its new Grip Xtend traction control system that includes a driver-adjustable knob to tailor the traction control to different surfaces, but the model is not available with all-wheel drive.