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Mercedes-Benz courts Renault for new Smart model based on Twingo

Mercedes-Benz is set to join forces with Renault in a deal aimed at providing its underdeveloped Smart division with a contemporary-engineered front-engine/front-wheel-drive platform as the basis for a frugal new Forfour model. The new Smart, due out in 2013, is planned to sit on a lightly modified version of the Renault Twingo’s underpinnings, complete with a 93.3-inch wheelbase. Speaking about the new car over the weekend, a highly placed Mercedes-Benz official told AutoWeek: “It’s a key component in plans to grow the Smart brand.

Ferrari Enzo successor to make 920 hp

About a decade and a half after Porsche eschewed its lightness-and-small-displacement strategy and built a five-liter sports racer to take down Ferrari at Le Mans, a different sort of war kicked off between the two marques: a battle for supremacy in the super-supercar market. In 1984, Ferrari built a radically modified twin-turbo 308 GTB with an eye toward Group B road-racing rules. Porsche countered the resultant 288 GTO with the mighty 959, which launched at about the same time as the 288's successor, the practically skeletal and infinitely loopier F40.

California racetrack serves wine in a can

A NASCAR race may be a prime place for knocking back cold beers, but those looking to class up their racing libations can now reach for a chilled Flasq wine in an aluminum can shaped like a bottle. Sonoma Valley, Calif.'s, Infineon Raceway, the site of one of NASCAR's road-course races, has entered into a partnership with California-based Flasq, which is domestic wine sold in quick-chilling and 100 percent recyclable bottles. Starting with this weekend's Ferrari challenge, Flasq will be available at the track throughout the 2011 racing season.