Top Speed first reported back in March that the French automaker Renault will relaunch the Gordini brand sometime in 2010. The first model to be badged as a Gordini will be the compact Twingo, but after the city car, the company will also launch a Gordini version of the Clio and Megane Coupe. According to Thomas Clavet the future Clio Gordini might look like something like this.
The exterior is emphasized by a rally inspired front end with enlarged air intakes and oversized fog lights. The roof adds a bit of style with a roof scoop that resembles the intake from a Formula 1 car. At the rear, the little Gordini has an understated rear wing atop the hatch and a bold rear diffuser. Finishing off the design is a centraly located inverted triangle exhaust tip. The compact factory tuner is painted in Blue with signature Gordini double white racing stripes.
It is radically fun designs like these that keep consumers enthusiastic about the future of the automobile.
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The artisans from J.E. Design have unleashed their paintbrushes on another one of the European exclusive members of the Volkswagen Family. The SEAT Leon recently underwent some reconstructive surgery in order to give the Spanish sports car a facelift. J.E. takes the entire process a step further with a complete reworking of the Leon’s exterior.
The tuners started out with a ground effects kit consisting of a set of side skirts as well as new front and rear aprons that bring the body closer to the road. Out front the factory SEAT grill has been replaced by a badge less matte black mesh unit. Above the driver’s head sits a rally inspired roof scoop which is quite possibly more about form than function, and finishing off the bodywork, J.E. has added a very racy rear wing.
J.E. equips the Leon with their signature rim in sizes ranging from 17 inches to 19 inches in diameter. Wheel gap is decreased thanks to a set of sport lowering springs, but even more ride height adjustment is available with a set of J.E. Design coil-overs. Finishing off the tuning package is a free flowing stainless steel exhaust that gives off a distinguished roar to let people know that something special is approaching. As soon as the new Leon hits the market, J.E. will be waiting with their aero kit.
Press release after the jump.
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We here at Top Speed have thoroughly enjoyed our run with the subcompact Toyota Yaris. Since we received the tiny five door, we have thoroughly tested the car both on highway and off. The VVT-i 1.5 Liter four cylinder works hard at higher speeds, but is able to chug along with the flow of traffic. Despite the car’s smaller footprint, the Yaris is extremely spacious on the interior, and the cloth seats were extremely comfortable on our two hour highway stint. The Yaris did quite well on the open road, the car was able to get up to speed quickly, there was minimal exterior noise in the cabin and the seating position kept the controls in easy reach while allowing you to relax for the duration of the trip.
The Yaris shines in a crowded urban environment. The way that the wheels are pushed out to the far corners, just like the original compact car the Mini, allows for many of the same benefits. There is maximum use of the interior space, weaving in and out of traffic is a breeze and finding a parking space has never been easier. For those reasons and many more, we don’t mind trading in massaging seatbacks and fancy hard drive based navigation units for a simpler, less-complicated automobile. However our favorite feature of the Yaris are all the storage compartments hidden in the dashboard.
The Toyota Yaris is not only a great first car; it is also a great second car. Save the 599 for the weekends, tell your wife that you’ll be taking the Yaris to the office today, you’ll just have to be selective about which clubs to bring to the driving range after work, because an entire golf bag definitely won’t fit in the trunk. But for around $15,000 you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Yaris, it also comes with one of the greatest guarantees in the world, it’s a Toyota.
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Fiat has launched a new Bravo special edition. Called Bravo MSN, the car is the result of the collaboration between Microsoft and Fiat. The new Fiat Bravo MSN will go on sale starting 26th June.
The special edition is available for the 1.6 Multijet 16v 120HP diesel and features the world’s latest technologies: Instant Nav radio navigation, Blue&Me technology, built-in TMC Premium functionK770i Cyber-Shot mobile phone sold by Sony Ericsson.
Press release after the jump.
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If you thought the Mugen RR was pretty sweet, but just aren’t ready to dish out that kind of dough for a front driver but still want the aesthetic appeal of the limited production super civic, then the in house Honda tuner Mugen has just what you are looking for. Mugen is preparing to launch a new aero kit for the European spec Honda Civic Type R. Set to be released this summer, the kit has been revealed as the "Premium Super Sports" concept and comes complete with everything needed to drastically change the appearance of your Type R.
As we all know, Mugen is more about going than showing, so aside from new front bumper with integrated lip spoiler, twin hood scoops, wider fenders, lower side skirts, new rear apron and massive rear wing, Mugen is also developing a series of power producing parts for the tiny Type R hatchback. So no matter whether you want a full out sport compact tuner car, or one that just looks and performs like one, you might want to check out what Mugen has to offer.
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When you hear the words Fiat 500 you might be thinking about a compact city car that is more about achieving outstanding fuel economy as opposed to all out performance. That is not what the German computer tuning specialist McChip had in mind. They see the little bubble from FIAT and decided that it deserved some extra help to get everything that the car could out of the tiny 1.4 Liter turbocharged engine. With a little engine recalibration the McChip tuners were able to get an extra 25 HP out of the turbocharged 1.4 Liter four banger, raising the maximum output to 160 HP and an additional 35 lb-ft of torque to give the city car 190 lb-ft of torque. The reflash was also good for a few miles per hour raising the top speed to 130 MPH.
Aside from the high performance version, McChip was able to get an additional 10 HP out of the 100 HP naturally aspirated version of the 1.4 Liter four cylinder and squeezed and extra 20 HP out of the 75 HP 1.3 Liter Multijet 16V diesel version. Aside from the engine tuning, McChip also offers a variety of styling upgrades as well as a set of 17" alloy wheels wrapped in sticky Hankook tires rubber. The computer tuning kit is priced at only 509 euro, not bad for the performance gains.
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Mini added today a new entry level to its Mini One family. The new Mini One D will go on sale in September and will be powered by the 1.6-litre diesel engine from the MINI Cooper D.
The engine delivers 90 hp at 4,000 rpm and a0 peak torque of 215 Nm from as low down as 1, 750 rpm and is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. The car sprints from 0 to 62 mph in 11.5 seconds and hits a top speed of 113 mph.
Press release after the jump.
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BMW is reshaping the way they make cars; the German automaker is planning on selling lots and lots of BMW 1 Series hatchbacks and has just revealed details about the all-new car for 2010. Starting this September the luxury carmaker will add four new models to their compact lineup: Starting off with the BMW 120i Coupé and the BMW 118d Coupé and then the Lifestyle and Sport Editions of the BMW 1 Series three and five-door body styles.
The new BMW 120i Coupe is powered by a 2.0 Liter four cylinder engine with BMW High Precision Injection (direct gasoline injection) with piezoelectric fuel injectors. The engine makes 170 HP and 155 lb-ft of torque, allowing the BMW 120i Coupé to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 7.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 149 MPH. The new diesel powered BMW 118d Coupe has the same engine displacement, except this one is developing 143 HP and 221 lb-ft of torque. It can go from a standstill to 60 mph in 9.0 seconds and reaching a top speed of 130 MPH.
In today’s fragile economy, a compact luxury hatchback may just be what new car buyers in the U.S. are looking for. The European influence on drivers here in the States seems to e looking like more of a certainty.
Press release after the jump.
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This is not the first time that we have had a Toyota Yaris in the Top Speed test fleet. The last time we got to drive the Japanese automaker’s compact city car it was wearing a sporty red paint job as well as a few aggressive body pieces, like a rear wing and big mouth front bumper. Just like before, it was nice to enjoy some of the simpler things in life. Like a 1.5 Liter VVT-i four cylinder that makes 106 HP and 103 lb-ft of torque, this may not sound like a lot, but the satisfaction of driving an ultra low emissions vehicle should be enough to make up for it.
Like before, our Pacific Blue Metallic Yaris was of the 5 door variety. Despite the Yaris’s diminutive appearance from the outside, it is quite spacious on the inside thanks to the hatchback layout. The only part of the Yaris that kept with the compact theme was the trunk; don’t think about bringing along more than one set of golf clubs. It was hard enough to get one bag to fit between the car’s rear suspension towers.
The Yaris is definitely a good car for the money, especially when you factor in the outstanding Toyota reliability. Our car came with a few nice touches like the upgraded 14 inch rims as opposed to a set of hubcaps and there was a CD player in the center stack. The base Yaris starts at around $13,000, not bad for a new car. The power package that our Yaris came equipped with added about $2,000 worth of window motors and remote locks to the city car. The power locks are actually a big deal for a four door, this way you will never be sitting in a restaurant thinking: “Did I lock that back door?” Whereas with our Yaris, you could just hit the locking button the key to make sure.
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The Italian automaker Alfa Romeo will unveil the successor to their compact 147 model at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the new baby Alfa will be called Milano, after the fashion capital, the car will take its design inspiration from models like the Alfa 8C Competizione super car, with its classic Alfa Romeo front end defined by sporty details like the inverted triangle shaped grill.
The new Milano will share its platform with the next generation Alfa 159, or Giulia as it is more commonly known. The platform, called C-Evo, is able to accommodate both front and four wheel drive layouts. With the grip of 4WD reserved for future high performance GTA models. Under the hood, the 147’s replacement will be powered by both four and six cylinder engines, giving the Milano an output anywhere from 120 HP to 265 HP.
With the way things are looking between FIAT and Chrysler, we here in the U.S. could be seeing more and more products like this compact city car in the near future. Despite the trend that appears to be moving away from over sized gas guzzlers in favor of lightweight more economical vehicles. You might just find yourself at a Chrysler/FIAT dealer shopping for a Milano in the near future.
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