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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.

Renault Clio RS Monaco GP carries on the tradition in Geneva

In the United States, our hot hatchback options are growing, with cars like the Ford Focus ST, Fiesta ST and the new Mini Cooper S keeping American drivers entertained alongside more traditional models like the Volkswagen GTI. What drivers in North America don't get to experience, though, is the French take on la voiture chaude. Considering that, we figured it was high time we took a look at one of the top European hot hatches, the Renault Clio RS.
With 200 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque on tap, courtesy of a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, the Clio RS would make a fine fit on North American roads. 62 miles per hour arrives in 6.7 seconds while the Clio RS tops out at 143 mph. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a six-speed, dual-clutch transmission.
Renault brought out the Monaco GP edition of the Clio RS at the Geneva Motor Show, marking the fourth car to honor the French principality's annual Formula One race, after the Laguna and Megane coupes and the Megane RS. Boasting pearlescent white paint (which looked pretty weird under the colored lighting of the Renault stand), the option of a contrasting roof and other blacked-out styling features. Monaco GP badges and a numbered plaque round out the tweaks for this purely cosmetic package.

2014 Renault Twingo is a rear-engined cutie

At this point, we thought the formula for small, inexpensive hatchbacks was pretty much dialed in: transverse engine, front-wheel drive. Then along comes Renault with its cheeky new Twingo, just to throw a curveball into the mix. Sporting a rear-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive, the Twingo is something of a (very) poor man's Porsche 911, and it's got us excited.
Power is provided by either a naturally aspirated, 70-horsepower, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine or a turbocharged 900cc triple with 90 horsepower and 100 lb-ft, the latter of which sounds like quite a lot of fun in a lightweight small car. We're eager to check out what sort of dynamic wins this layout yields - we know it's going to be nimble, with a turning circle of just 8.65 meters (28.4 feet), a full meter less than rivals. Of course, the rear-engined, rear-wheel drive thing hasn't always produced sterling drive experiences - the Smart ForFour speaks loudly to this. In fact it's no coincidence that the Twingo shares this driveline configuration with Smart - the chassis was codeveloped with Daimler alongside the next-generation ForTwo.
The Twingo's interior is best described as cheap and cheerful, with some neat features like a flat-bottomed wheel, contrasting trim and TomTom navigation. Despite being shorter overall than the last-generation model, this Twingo is actually roomier inside. We've had a chance to look at the cargo hold, and its load floor is modestly higher than you might find in a more conventional hatchback, but it's a pretty remarkable feat of packaging - if someone didn't tell you there was an engine back there, you wouldn't suspect it. In fact, Renault boasts, "It is the only city car capable of carrying a boxed Swedish bookshelf."

Renault's rear-engined Twingo knocks our little socks off [w/video]

There was a time when the smallest, nimblest hatchbacks (like the original VW Beetle and Fiat Cinquecento) put their engines in the back. But those days are long behind us... right? Well nobody seems to have told Renault, which has a proud history of putting its engines behind the seats with vehicles like the Renault 5 Turbo and Clio RS V6. Those were decidedly performance-oriented hot hatches, but now Renault is taking the formula to the masses with the introduction of the new Twingo.
Developed in parallel to Daimler's next-generation Smart, the third-generation Twingo takes its cues from the Twin'Z and Twin'Run concepts. Although Renault isn't saying what the engine is, it's mounted in the rear of a tiny five-door hatchback driving the rear wheels to make it nimble, fun to drive and free up interior space. The layout is in stark contrast to the previous two versions of the Twingo that mounted the engine up front in a three-door bodystyle, and ought to make for one heck of an entertaining RS hot hatch version.
The new Twingo will officially launch at the Geneva Motor Show next month, after which it will be available in four color schemes. By then, we hope, Renault will give us a bit more in the way of technical details to chew on. In the meantime you can scope out the high-res images in the gallery above and the video clip and press release below.

Alpine delayed over 'creative tensions' between Renault and Caterham

The rebirth of the Alpine brand is going to have to stay in the womb a little longer, it appears. Autocar learned that Renault's styling mockup was secretly shown to possible clients recently, and the feedback was tepid enough for the French company to send the design back to the drawing board. The delay will likely push the sports car back to a 2016 launch.
The setback is partly due to the car being a joint venture between Caterham and Renault. When Alpine was reformed last year, the two companies agreed that each would build their own version of the sports coupe from shared mechanical parts, including a Renault engine, but two different exterior designs.
While the two designs are independent, if Renault changes any of the body mounting points, then Caterham's body also needs a redesign. Also, the deal stipulates that both cars have to be ready before they can go on sale. The Alpine is rumored to have about 250 horsepower, while the Caterham may have power closer to 300 hp, according to Autocar. We spotted a test mule under the skin of a Lotus Exige with a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine last summer.