Renault Alpine A110-50's Run at the Monaco GP

Aside from Mark Webber's stunning win, Renault had another reason to celebrate in Monaco this past weekend as the French firm introduced the new Alpine A110-50 Concept to mark the 50th anniversary of its legendary mid-engined sports car. The presentation took place on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix, with Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares wearing his race suit to drive the 400-horsepower, mid-engined racer around the Circuit de Monaco.
Speaking to French journalists during the media presentation, Tavares admitted that Renault is indeed considering to revive the Alpine brand with a final decision to be taken "before the end of the year".
"There's at least a 50 percent chance of that happening [the re-launch of Alpine] with the introduction of a single model to begin with, priced between 30,000 and 100,000 euros (US$37,000 to US$125,000)," said Tavares, according to the AFP.
The Renault boss added that if the Alpine sub-brand gets the green light, it will have a new model ready in "three to five years".

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Renault's Quirky Pure-Electric Twizy

Renault has never been the one to shy away from eccentric creations (remember the Avantime?) but the new Twizy certainly takes quirkiness one-step further as it looks like the odd pairing of a golf kart with a motorcycle offering seating for two in a tandem layout while riding on four wheels. Revealed as a concept for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault surprised us a year later with the presentation of the production model in Paris. Now, the Twizy is available in European showrooms including Britain where it went on sale today. 
 
The 2.34 metres long by 1.24 metres wide two-seater model is available in three trim levels (Urban, Colour and Technic) and two power variants.
The lower powered Twizy 45 (5hp) with a top speed of 28mph (45km/h) was not originally planned for the UK market, however, the company said that due to recent confirmation that a new category of European licence for 16 year olds and over comes into effect in Britain from January 2013, it is now "studying its sales potential". 
 
The regular Twizy is motivated by a 13kW (17hp) electric motor with a limited top speed of around 50 mph (80km/h). Its battery can be recharged using a standard three-pin plug in three and a half hours, which costs around £1 (depending on the energy supplier) and provides a driving range of around 60 miles (close to 100 kilometers).
Pricing for the 17hp Urban model starts at £6,690 (€8,100 or US$10,700), however, that does not including the battery which Renault leases for a monthly fee of £45 (€54 or US$72) including VAT for a 36 month/4,500 miles (7,240 kilometers) per year agreement.

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Renault Twingo Conceptualized by Four Artists [72 Photos & Videos]

What would happen if you gave various artists from different fields and countries the opportunity to break barriers and explore new paths with the design and the use of a vehicle like Renault's entry in the small city car segment, the recently refreshed Twingo? Renault tried to answer this question by summoning four artists from the fashion, music, design and cooking industries to give their personal take on the Twingo.
The artist lineup includes: French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who came up with a presidential vehicle concept; Italian chef Davide Scabin renowned for his creative cooking, who decorated the interior of the Twingo accordingly; UK singer Nicola Roberts, who matched he passion for music and make-up, and pragmatic German designer, Nils Holger Moormann, who turned the Twingo into a rolling library.
You can check out all four concepts in the video and photo gallery below.

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