Car Throttle

The French seem to revel and specialize in the bizarre and unexplainable when it comes to cars. It seems to be their USP, if you will.  Citroens with single-spoke steering wheels and bizarre hydropneumatic spheres for suspension.  Peugeots with giant gaping-maw grilles and 8-foot-long noses.  Renault hatchbacks with powerful engines stuffed where the rear seats used to go, driving the rear wheels through massive boxed-out fenders.  So of course their concept cars are equally bizarre, perhaps just for the sake of being bizarre.  It seems at every major European auto show, one of the french manufacturers debuts an impossibly exotic mid-engined sports car that runs on cheese and Galois cigarettes, or has a jet engine sticking out of one tail light, or god knows what. Continuing that

Yes, the Geneva 2010 posts are coming - a month before the start of the show. That's the way things go in the industry, with Renault haven already taken the wraps off on the Wind and now the Megane Coupe-Cabriolet. The Geneva Motor Show is a very important show that usually sees many large introductions. Let's check out the new Megane Coupe-Cabriolet. The Megane has primarily gotten a lot of attention (well, from us anyway) for the Megane Renaultsport RS hot hatch. At CarThrottle we are fans of that car's good looks and impressive performance figures. But, there are a lot of other models in the lineup as well - the Coupe Cariolet adds to the existing hatchback, coupe and sports tourer variants. Like its main competitor

Since the first ones came out more than a decade ago, folding hardtops have pretty much followed a set formula. There are usually two pieces (a roof bit and a back window bit) that fold on top of each other, then pivot back, and fold under a rear-hinging decklid.  Since those first 3000GT's and Mercedes SLK's it's been this way, with very few exceptions.  But sometimes it just takes some original thinking on an already-developed concept to come up with something brilliant. Folding hardtops have taken off much more in Europe than they have in the US, primarily in the compact C-segment.  You can get a folding metal roof from pretty much all the mainstream manufacturers in Europe, based on their mid-sized hatchback offerings.  Ford, Renault,

A while back Renault announced they were reviving the Gordini name so they could use it as a brand/nameplate to give a more sporting feel to certain models. Gordini has been around for quite a while, and although dormant of late, is a name certainly worth reviving. The first car out of the gates at the Renault factory is a Gordini branded Twingo R.S. The new not hatch will make its world entrance this coming January 10, at the ever-so continentally named L’Atelier Renault on the Champs-Elysées, in Paris. Sales will follow in March of 2010. As with all Gordinis from the past, this future Twingo Gordini RS will be painted in Malte Blue lacquer metallic with the time-honored two white racing stripes. Other exterior features

In Europe, hot hatches rule the roost! There has been some success for the genre here in the United States, but their existence is far more widespread in other parts of the world. Perhaps they would be more successful over here if we had products like the Renaultsport Megane RS. Earlier this month Renault released some better photography of the car. They're taking it a step further now with a video of the Megane RS doing track time. It is driven by Renault's F1 driver Romain Grosjean on the Nurburgring. Making 250 horsepower at 5,500rpm, and the same 250 pound-feet at 3,000 rpm, the Megane RS is certainly no slouch. No word on what kind of track times it did, but the video below is certainly worth

The Renaultsport Megane RS made it's debut at the Geneva Auto Show this year, but there hasn't been too many good pictures of it available. Perhaps the most glaring omission was the lack of any interior shots. The wait is over! The Renaultsport Megane RS is powered by a 2.0L, 16v inline-four equipped with a twin scroll turbocharger.  It makes  250 horsepower at 5,500rpm, and torque comes in low in the powerband, with the full 250 lb-ft (340NM) kicking in at 3,000 rpm. In addition, 80% of torque is available from an even lower 1,900 rpm. The two models of the Megane RS are “Sport” and “Cup.”  Cup is even more sporting than the standard "Sport," and is fitted with a standard limited-slip differential and additional chassis

Hmm, this one's an outlier! Britian's CAR magazine reports that Renault is planning to revive it's classic sports car brand. This comes right after news that Renault is cancelling the long planned reintroduction of it's Alpine brand. Interesting to say the least. Above is a picture of a classic Renault Gordini, with the blue/white Gordini trim unique paint scheme that I actually quite like. Looks like that'll be coming back on the brand's new models for this brand. The first model planned to get Gordini treatment is the brand's Twingo city car. While not usually considered a sports vehicle, I'd imagine it could be quite fun with a lot of power. According to an anonymous marketing executive, they will not be just a paint package like they released recently. While it will have

The latest in a long line of Renault hot hatches, the new Renaultsport Megane RS is just exactly what you'd expect: a turbocharged, hard-edged, body-kitted performance variant of the regular Megane. This is the first Renaultsport variant of the new Megane, which has been receiving relatively positive reviews in the press as of late.  It's based on the sleek-looking Megane Coupe, and features a revised motor plus some neat carryovers from the old Megane R.26R. Under the hood is a 2.0L, 16v inline-four equipped with a quick-spooling twin scroll turbocharger.  This motor makes more power and torque than the previous Renaultsport motor, while boasting a wider powerband and improved drivability and response.  Power peaks at 250 horsepower at 5,500rpm, while the torque peak of 340nM( 250lb-ft)