Renault Twingo, page #17

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Morocco offering 'cash for clunkers' program for Mercedes W123 taxis

As the models continue to grow older, the Ford Crown Victoria is slowly but surely disappearing from US cities as the prevailing taxicab. The same thing is happening in Morocco with its huge fleet of Mercedes-Benz W123-chassis taxis thanks to a little help from the government. The authorities cite safety and environmental reasons for the decades-old sedans to be removed from the road in a cash-for-clunkers-style program slated to start by the end of the year.
According to Ran When Parked, there are about 55,000 W123 taxis operating in Morocco. The body style was built throughout the '70s and '80s with a variety of gasoline and diesel engines, and they earned a reputation for doing high miles with great reliability. The cab drivers like them because they can cram several people in and still fit on the crowded streets. To stop the stream of old Mercedes cabs, the country's government made it quite expensive to import vehicles more than five years old.
In addition to improving air quality, the cash-for-clunkers program might stimulate local business. Renault and Dacia operate a factory in Tangier, Morocco, that builds some vans, including the Dacia Dokker. Ran When Parked claims the authorities would give drivers about 50,000 Dirhams ($6,100) to trade in their cars, and Renault would provide an additional 10,000 Dirhams ($1,200) to switch to one of its vehicles. Maybe it's finally time for the W123 to pass the torch...

Renaultsport teases N?rburgring-bound M?gane

The current king of the hot hatches, as crowned by the Nürburgring, is the Seat Leon Cupra. And Renault is none too happy about that. It did, after all, hold the Nordschleife lap record for front-drive cars for several years, first with the Mégane II-based R26.R and then with the third-gen Mégane Trophy. And now it's working on another.
Collaborating with the likes of Michelin, Akrapovic, Öhlins and BRM, Renaultsport is aiming for a sub-8-minute lap time that will - it surely hopes - unseat Seat from its position on the leaderboards, where it currently stands at 7:58.4. It hinted as much a couple of weeks ago and, after releasing a couple more teaser shots, has now revealed this video to give us an idea of what it's working on.
Aside from the center-exit Akrapovic exhaust with its carbon-fiber tip, there's not a lot to glean from the video below, but there is one thing that caught our eye: the prototype is running all four wheels on the dyno, making us wonder if it might be running all-wheel drive. Renault hasn't done all-wheel drive before with one of its hot hatches, but then it hadn't been known for turbos and DCTs before it launched the latest Clio RS, which has both.

Renault gunning for sub-8-second N?rburgring lap time

While hybrid hypercars like the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari are thrown into the (at least hypothetical) battle for the sub-7-second Nürburgring lap record, there's another war waging further down the time sheets. That's for the fastest lap clocked around the Nordschleife in a front-wheel-drive production vehicle.
Arguably more relevant to the common (European) man, this war is being waged between the top hot hatches on the Continental market. Seat became the current leader when it clocked a lap time of 7:58.4 in the new Leon Cupra 280, and Honda has made no secret of its intent to take the record with the upcoming Civic Type R. We wouldn't be surprised to see Opel go for it with the Astra OPC Extreme, but before any of these contenders came along, the record rightfully belonged to Renault.
The French automaker set a time of 8:16.9 with the Mégane R26.R back in 2008, then reset the record at 8:07.9 in 2011 with the newer Mégane Trophy. Evidently unhappy to see its bragging rights stolen away by the Spanish (and eyed by the Japanese and Germans), Renaultsport is apparently preparing an even hotter hatch with the explicit aim of setting a sub-8-second lap time of its own.

Renault opens up revised M?gane Coup?-Cabriolet

Go back a decade or so and you'd find showrooms full of hardtop convertibles. There was the Pontiac G6, Chrysler Sebring, Volkswagen Eos, Volvo C70, Cadillac XLR, Lexus SC430 and so many more. Though there still are some on the market, by and large the trend has abated. Heck, even Mercedes-Benz, which (with apologies to Mitsubishi) almost singlehandedly brought the trend to the forefront with the original SLK, is preparing drop the folding hardtop from the next SL after three generations with. Nobody seems to have told Renault, though.
The French automaker has been making a Coupé-Cabriolet version of the Mégane for over a decade now, and while rivals like the Peugeot 308 and Opel Astra have long since dropped the drop-tops from their lineups (replaced, in the latter case, by the soft-top Cascada), Renault presses on. Redesigned to more closely resemble the rest of the range, the new Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet is capped by a folding panoramic glass roof that Renault claims is the largest in its (ever-shrinking) class.
With a 3,500-pound curb weight, that also makes the Mégane CC a good 700 lbs heavier than, say, a similar-sized (but fixed-roofed) Honda Civic Coupe, or about as much as a small crossover like the Toyota RAV4. To pull all that weight, European buyers can select from a range of gasoline or diesel engines with as little as 97 horsepower or as much as 130, mated to a manual, automatic or continuously variable transmission. As a result, the best a Mégane CC will do even in the top spec is 0-62 in about eleven seconds... but at least you'll have the wind in your hair, when you want it to anyway.

Renault, Caterham to dissolve joint sportscar venture?

Long living in the shadow of Lotus, British automaker Caterham is keen to make it on its own - though maybe not all on its own. The company that made its name building continuation versions of the iconic Lotus Seven still relies on automakers like Ford and Suzuki to supply its engines, and developed the SP/300.R with Lola, but has been forging a much deeper alliance with Renault.
The relationship started when Renault began supplying the Caterham F1 team with engines in 2011, but has since extended far beyond that. The two entered a joint venture in 2012 to develop a new sports car, began talking about using Renault engines in versions of the Caterham Seven and even hinted at producing a crossover together. But if the latest intel from across the pond is to be believed, that could all come crashing down.
The problem reportedly stems from delays in the development of the joint sports car program under the Societé des Automobiles Alpine Caterham banner. After showing the design to select customers to lukewarm reception, Renault apparently went back to the drawing board, taking Caterham along with it, much to the latter's dismay. The two could still launch the vehicle, albeit independently, but that could be the last we see of the collaboration. We can only hope that one version or another makes the transatlantic voyage Stateside.

Lapo Elkann calls out Renault Twingo for copying Fiat 500 [w/poll]

Small cars are becoming big business, especially for European automakers that are amping up the style. But is each new Euro city car's style unique?
Lapo Elkann is calling that into question. The brother of Fiat chairman John Elkann and the grandson of his late predecessor Gianni Agnelli is known as much as a style icon as he is for his work within the Fiat Group, which he has served in various capacities. He's combined the two by birthing various special editions of the Fiat 500 like the Gucci edition (to say nothing of his own denim-clad Ferraris), but now his eye is fixed on another European city car: the new Renault Twingo.
Posting photos of both vehicles on his Facebook page, Lapo is calling Renault out for what he sees as copying the Cinquecento's design.

Renault reveals new Trafic cargo van

Head over to Europe and you're bound to see this van scurrying about. Only you might not recognize it. That's because this product of a joint venture between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and General Motors is sold under four different nameplates: by Vauxhall and Opel as the Vivaro, by Nissan as the Primastar and by Renault as the Trafic.
Since introducing the first-generation Trafic in 1980, Renault alone has sold over 1.6 million of them. The second generation arrived in 2001, and this is the third - or a facelifted version of the second, anyway. It features revised styling and updated equipment and will be offered in two lengths, two heights, a variety of cab configurations and a host of engine options to give commercial buyers a staggering array of 270 different combinations to choose from, including a new 1.6-liter diesel developed by Renault.
To supplement the manufacturing undetaken by GM in the UK and by Nissan in Spain, Renault will also handle assembly of the new van in France. Expect new versions of the Nissan Primastar and Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro to follow, but for now (if you happen to be interested in European vans) you can read about the new Renault Trafic in the press release below.

Watch the crazy way you refill washer fluid in the Renault Twingo

In many ways, the new Renault Twingo is a very old-school car. While its look and mechanicals are entirely modern, moving the engine to the back with rear-wheel drive harkens back to small, European cars of the '60s. The little Frenchman has a platform co-developed with Daimler and shares its underpinnings with the next-generation Smart. However, It also brings back some of the quirkiness to French cars that has been dwindling recently. Case in point: The way Renault created the hood opening.
Just knowing how to open the front is a puzzle, and as the guy in this video from Autoforum.cz demonstrates, things only get weirder from there. The host claims that the design is going keep owners from getting dirty, but that seems very dubious. We just love that French cars get to be legitimately odd again. Just scroll down and watch the video. You'll see.

Renault and Nissan forge deeper alliance

If the automotive industry's current era could be summarized by one trend - from a corporate aspect, anyway - surely it would be conglomeration. But of all the major auto groups that have emerged over the past several years, none have kept themselves at arm's length quite like the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Much like Fiat and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan are presided over by a common chief executive. But whereas Sergio Marchionne's Italian-American alliance has moved swiftly from a transatlantic partnership to a merged company in the span of less than five years, Carlos Ghosn's Franco-Japanese alliance has stood oceans apart since 1999. But now the Renault-Nissan Alliance is following the lead set by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in bridging that distance through several key measures.
For one, Renault and Nissan will make increased use of common platforms, R&D, systems and testing. The two automakers will also cooperate more closely on manufacturing and supply chain management, purchasing and human resources. To manage the increased cooperation, the alliance has appointed several new executive vice presidents from within its ow ranks and a new management committee to be chaired by Ghosn, details about which you can read in the press release below.

Tesla poaches Renault-Nissan communications boss Sproule

Need another sign that Tesla is growing into a force to be reckoned with? Bloomberg reports it has just snagged high-profile communications boss Simon Sproule from Renault-Nissan to become the EV maker's vice president of communications and marketing.
Sproule is an industry veteran, having spent 20 years at Nissan (where he grew to become CEO Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man). In addition, he logged stints at Ford, Jaguar (when it was still a Blue Oval-owned brand) and Microsoft. Despite all that experience, Sproule is still young, at just 45 years of age, as Bloomberg points out, yet he's held positions in the US, Japan and France over the years.
This is all good news for Tesla, which is in need of a strong spokesman outside of company CEO Elon Musk. It's been battling with the state of New Jersey and its governor, Chris Christie, over direct sales in the Garden State.