Renault Rolls Out 1000th Clio Gordini RS

The Renault Alpine plant in Dieppe produced the 1,000th Clio Gordini RS model this month, less than a year after its introduction. Built since May 2010, the Clio Gordini RS is sold in 18 countries, most of them in Europe.

Renault revived the Gordini name at the end of 2009, when it presented the Twingo Gordini RS. Other members of the Gordini family include the Twingo Gordini and more recently, the Wind Gordini, which premiered at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

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Design Study for a Modern Day Renault Alpine Sports Coupe

An affordable, rear-wheel drive sports coupe from Renault bearing the historic Alpine moniker has been in the cards for years but the French carmaker has yet to launch a modern day successor to the last model to carry the Alpine name, the A610 from the mid 1990s.

After production of the A610 ended, Renault used the Alpine factory in Dieppe to manufacture the street-legal RenaultSport Spider, a lightweight two-seater model with a rear mid-engine layout built from 1995 to 1997, which was the French firm’s last bespoke sports car.

Over the years, we have seen many independent designers creating concept studies for a new Alpine coupe, the most recent being the one you see pictured above, which is the work of David Cardoso.

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Renault Alpine Sportscar

While Renault car sales in France have been robust in the first half of 2008, in Europe – its biggest market – the group is down 4.6 percent. If higher sales and better market penetration is the question, could a sports coupé be the answer? The Cartribe reckon Renault thinks so. They say after an interview with one of Renault’s highest-ranking officials, news was revealed to them of a sportscar similar to the Nissan’s 350Z will be on sale by 2010.

Underpinning this vehicle would be an Infiniti G37/ Nissan 370 Z base, which we think wouldn’t be a lame idea in the least bit, given the outstanding handling characteristics of these two cousins. Moreover, the name Alpine would be the one to carry a sports Renault. You know the name from decades ago when it used to build winning racing cars using Renault engines. Although WCF reported on such a car a few weeks ago, it has been very much a rumour. Up until now.

A Renault proper sportscar we suspect would use a relatively small turbo engine rather than a large V6 block for obvious reasons; weight, compactness, emissions and a possible return of the turbo to Formula One. The car will not be based on any existing Renault car and will be quite different, even radical in styling. Renault desperately needs to justify its multi-million-Euro involvement in F1 and so far, as good as RenaultSport is, it hasn’t happened to the extent desired.

6:22 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Renault Alpine Sportscar

While Renault car sales in France have been robust in the first half of 2008, in Europe – its biggest market – the group is down 4.6 percent. If higher sales and better market penetration is the question, could a sports coupé be the answer? The Cartribe reckon Renault thinks so. They say after an interview with one of Renault’s highest-ranking officials, news was revealed to them of a sportscar similar to the Nissan’s 350Z will be on sale by 2010.

Underpinning this vehicle would be an Infiniti G37/ Nissan 370 Z base, which we think wouldn’t be a lame idea in the least bit, given the outstanding handling characteristics of these two cousins. Moreover, the name Alpine would be the one to carry a sports Renault. You know the name from decades ago when it used to build winning racing cars using Renault engines. Although WCF reported on such a car a few weeks ago, it has been very much a rumour. Up until now.

A Renault proper sportscar we suspect would use a relatively small turbo engine rather than a large V6 block for obvious reasons; weight, compactness, emissions and a possible return of the turbo to Formula One. The car will not be based on any existing Renault car and will be quite different, even radical in styling. Renault desperately needs to justify its multi-million-Euro involvement in F1 and so far, as good as RenaultSport is, it hasn’t happened to the extent desired.

6:22 AM | 0 comments | Read More