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Renault buys Caterham out of the joint Alpine sports car venture

Renault buys Caterham out of the joint Alpine sports car venture It’s more than eighteen months since Renault and Caterham joined forces to create a new breed of sports cars around the Alpine brand. Renault say the arrangement is a mutual one and officially brings to an end the joint venture, and that the business will be renamed Société des Automobiles Alpine this month, although Renault aren’t excluding further ventures with Caterham in the future. The split means that the Alpine project will now be a purely Renault one, and Renault are planning to get their Alpine to market by 2016.

Renault buys Caterham stake in Alpine as Anglo-French deal collapses

By Michael Karkafiris Motor Industry 10 June 2014 10:36 The collaboration between Renault and Caterham officially ended today, with the French company acquiring Caterham’s remaining stake in Alpine. It marks the end of the road for the Anglo-French collaboration, leaving Renault the sole owner in Société des Automobiles Alpine. Today’s announcement terminates the 50-50 partnership signed in November 2012 between the two companies, a partnership that started with the promise of building two sister sports cars, one from Alpine and one from Caterham.

Porsche 911 Carrera S Martini Racing Edition (2014) unveiled for Le Mans

By Michael Karkafiris First Official Pictures 10 June 2014 16:50 Porsche is returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans race this weekend – a perfect excuse to throw another special edition of its iconic 911 into the marketplace. So this is the new Porsche 911 Carrera S Martini Racing Edition, the ideal sports car for a trip to La Sarthe to cheer on Porsche’s hybrid race car. Available only in black or white, the 911 Carrera S Martini will be limited to 80 units globally.

Zero tolerance to drink-driving urged

DRIVERS are being urged to pledge not to drink any alcohol before driving this summer as the police launches a new drink-driving campaign. The call comes from road safety charity Brake, which reports that the 2013 summer drink-driving campaign by the police breathalysed 100,892 drivers and 5170 failed the test. This summer’s football World Cup is a cause for concern for the police as drivers may be tempted to have an alcoholic drink while watching a football match before getting into their car.

Cycle or walk, charity urges parents

PARENTS could save a collective £2 billion a year if they ditched the school run and accompanied children to lessons on foot or by bicycle, says a transport charity. On average, each set of parents could reduce costs by £642 a year if they did not use their car to ferry their offspring to and from school, said Sustrans. Around 11 million journeys a day are made between home and school, while, on average, primary school children live 1.8 miles from school, which is a 25-minute brisk walk, or 15-minute bike ride.

Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory

Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory It’s a nice idea to build a limited edition car – the Lotus Exige LF1 – to celebrate very one of the 81 victories Lotus has enjoyed in F1, but it does make you wonder if Lotus has done it because they’re never likely to win again (and if they do, do they produce another LF1?). Still, Lotus has pulled out the icon JPS livery for the Lotus Exige S (from the days cigarettes could be advertised) to give the LF1 a pretty paint job of black and gold (with added red bits) including a black and gold Lotus badge up front and a contrast stitched interior with F1 logos on the seats. Also interesting is that each car will receive a plaque commemorating each individual victory, from the 1960 win at Monaco with Stirling Moss behind the wheel to the last in Australia in 2013 with Kimi Raikkonen.

2014 MINI Cooper SD 3-door joins the new MINI range – price from £19,450

The 3-door MINI Cooper SD (pictured) arrives in MINI showrooms in July 2014 When the new 2014 MINI Hatch pricing was revealed back in March, the range consisted of the MINI One, One D, Cooper, Cooper D and Cooper SD. But no sign of the Cooper SD. But now MINI has fixed that with the arrival of the 3-door MINI Cooper SD.

Mini Cooper SD (2014): 104g/km CO2 with 0-62mph in 7.2sec

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 10 June 2014 10:07 Mini confirmed the Cooper SD was coming when it unveiled the new-for-2014, five-door maxi Mini last week. But now it has issued the full spec and details of the Cooper SD and the entry-level Mini One First. The 2014 Cooper SD is the most powerful diesel Mini ever, says Munich, and the 2.0-litre four-pot TD develops a stout 168bhp.

Bentley Continental GT3 road car debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed?

The Bentley Continental GT3 (pictured) looks set to turn in to a road car The idea that the Bentley Continental GT3 – Bentley’s track special – will, at some point, turn in to a road car has been around for a couple of years. But it seemed unlikely. It seemed unlikely because a stripped-out Continental with a GT3 badge, pushing on 700bhp and stripped of many of its luxuries would step on the toes of what we expected – a new Continental Supersports.

Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.

Tesla Model S EV UK launch – Tesla considering patent giveaway

Elon Musk (pictured) launches RHD Model S in UK The electric Tesla Model S – probably the only electric car that makes sense – has finally been launched in the UK in right hand drive, with the first five Model S customers taking delivery of their cars. With a starting price of £50,280 (after the £5k taxpayer bribe) the Model S represents a real first for EVs; the first EV that can do pretty much anything an ICE car can, and more beside. With a range of up to 312 miles, seating for up to seven (well, 5+2), low running costs, great performance (0-60mph in 4.2 seconds) low service costs, no VED, no congestion charge and, at least until 2015, no BIK for business users, it’s not only almost as practical as a comparable ICE car it’s massively cheaper to run.

Canadian Grand Prix (2014): RESULT

Canadian Grand Prix (2014): RESULT For the first time in 2014, it looks as if the Red Bulls are in with a chance after Sebastian Vettel managed to put his car in third place on the grid, behind Rosberg on pole and Hamilton in second spot, with Ricciardo in the second Red Bull in sixth behind the Williams cars. But after one of the best Grands Prix for a very long time, it was the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo that took the win after a dramatic tussle in the closing stages saw the Australian take his maiden win, a struggling Rosberg taking second place to extend his lead over Hamilton and a resurgent Vettel taking the final podium spot. At the start, Hamilton got a better take off than Vettel and pulled ahead, only to be baulked at the first corner by Rosberg and losing second spot to Vettel in the process.

Local Motors reveals 3D-printed car design

Local Motors has chosen the design it will 3D-print during the course of the International Manufacturing Technology Show (ITMS) in Chicago, IL, which runs from 8-13 September. Called Strati, the concept was judged the best entry in Local Motors' first 3D Printed Car Design Challenge. It was created by Italian designer Michele Anoé, and his design 'will inform and influence' the car to be printed during the course of the ITMS.

UK drivers becoming more aggressive

DRIVERS in the UK are becoming more aggressive, with 61% saying they use their car’s horn at least once a month. They are using the horn in anger at other drivers rather than its proper purpose of warning other drivers of your presence. A study by Flexed shows drivers are also using more anti-social tactics than before, with 33% of drivers admitting to changing lanes multiple times in traffic jams to try to get further ahead.

Car workers 'top for excercise'

CAR WORKERS and mechanics are the most physically active staff, taking regular exercise more than three times a week, according to a new study. Employees in leisure and tourism were ranked second. A survey of 2,000 workers by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to mark its cycling campaign, found that mechanics did some form of physical exercise more than four times a week.

Supermarkets cut diesel prices

SUPERMARKETS seeking to close the gap between the price of petrol and diesel have announced reductions at the pumps. Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco have all knocked up to 2p a litre off diesel prices over the weekend. Asda said that those filling up with its diesel would be paying no more than 131.7p a litre.

Free MOTs for life for Audi owners

Audi In what can only be a bid to boost the use of official Audiservice centres, the German premium car brand is offering free MOTs for life on any age of Audi if the current owner pays to have the cam belt changed.   Audi free MOTs for life: what’s the saving and what’s the catch? The complimentary MOT offer effectively represents an annual saving of £49.99 (the current cost of an MOT), as long as you have the cam belt work carried out by an Audi Centre or Authorised Audi Repairer.

New Alfa Romeo MiTo & Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde price & spec – costs from £20,210 & £28,120

The new Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde (pictured) costs from £28,120 Alfa Romeo doesn’t have a huge amount to play with at the moment with its range in flux and plans to boost sales with new models. But although range-topping cars are not big sellers, they are good to shine a performance glow on the brand, which is why the Alfa Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde and MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde (that’s the MiTo and Giulietta Cloverleaf to you an me) arrived at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Now both are about to go on sale in the UK, so we get prices and specs.

Corvette Z06 (2015) official power stats revealed

By Michael Karkafiris Motor Industry 09 June 2014 13:38 The new Corvette Z06 is officially GM’s most powerful product as it finally announces the vital stats: 641bhp and 650lb ft from the supercharged LT4 6.2 V8. This means that the new model is not only more powerful than the previous one (of course it is),  but it beats also the crazy C6 ZR1 as well, putting it on a par with true exotics, at least when engine figures are concerned. GM says that 0-60mph takes under 3.5sec.

Ellesmere Port Celebrates Five Decades Of Production

VAUXHALL recently celebrated 50 years of production at its Ellesmere Port facility by recreating the original 1964 press image of the first vehicle coming off the line, in the same production location with today’s Astra alongside. The first new car to be produced at Ellesmere Port was a Vauxhall Viva HA, a model name that would run in a number of variants until 1978, when it was replaced by the Chevette. The Viva cost £527 7s 11d at launch.

The Designers, Pt5 – Richard Chung, Johnson Controls

Car Design News launched its first-ever Car Design Review yearbook at the Geneva Motor Show, featuring the award-winning Production Car and Concept Car Designs of 2013. If you're interested in buying a copy of the 160-page yearbook this interview appears in, alongside trend reports, bespoke car design infographics and a special feature on Marcello Gandini, our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Car Design Review can be purchased here. Name Richard ChungRole VP industrial design & craftsmanship, Johnson ControlsAge,nationality 51, USLocation Shanghai, ChinaEducation Art Center College of Design "What I'm most proud of is our staff.

Highway Code to be rewritten for driverless cars

Government ministers have admitted that the current rules of the roadas laid out in the Highway Code, will be inadequate when a new generation of cars which drive themselves arrive in the near future. Science minister David Willetts told the Daily Mail that he is in talks with the Department for Transport about rewriting the law to allow cars on UK roads without anyone in the driving seat. Bosch autonomous car review (2013) – MSN tests driverless car Driverless cars on UK pavements by 2015 Google plans to test prototypes of its self-driving car in California later this year.

'Ambulance chasers' face new controls

THE CULTURE of "ambulance-chasing" lawyers and bogus whiplash claims could come to an end following new measures set out by the Government to crack down on insurance fraud. Lawyers will be banned from offering accident victims incentives such as money or free iPad computers to encourage them to make a claim and courts will be given powers to throw out compensation actions where claimants have been dishonest. The reforms by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) aim to tackle the rise of the compensation culture and reduce the amount being paid out unnecessarily by insurance companies - which can lead to higher premiums for honest customers.

Revealed: the best and worst places to commute by car

Newspress Fed up with sitting in traffic on your rush hour commute? Then consider a move to Peterborough – where a survey has found the average commute is faster than any other city in the UK. Direct Line Drive Plus found that the average speed in Peterborough’s rush hour is 19.3mph – that’s almost double that of Westminster’s 10.06mph.

Volkswagen Golf R 400 sounds like it means business (video)

The VW Golf R 400 (pictured) on the move in Vienna The Volkswagen Golf R Concept arrived at the Beijing Motor Show recently, and it looked pretty much production-ready. So it was no huge surprise when we got news that the Golf R 400 is going in to production – although probably in limited numbers with a big price tag – and there seems to be more than a fighting chance it will actually get more than the 395 bhp (400 PS) the concept has. But even if the R 400 only comes with 395 bhp, it promises to out-do the current hot hatch champion – the Mercedes A45 AMG – with a 0-62mph of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 174mph, with all its power being put down to all four wheels through VW’s 4MOTION.

Canadian Grand Prix: Rosberg beats Hamilton to pole for another Mercedes front row

Rosberg (pictured) takes pole for Mercedes in 2014 Canadian Grand Prix After the shenanigans at Monaco – with Lewis Hamilton convinced Nico Rosberg had wrecked his chance of pole position – Hamilton had something to prove in qualifying for the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. But he failed – just. Despite the Montreal island circuit considered to suit Hamilton’s style more than Rosberg’s, it was the German who put in the quickest lap and will start in pole position for tomorrow’s race.

New Toyota Aygo price & spec – costs from £8,595, and even less if you’re quick

The new Toyota Aygo (pictured) on sale 1 July 2014 The new Toyota Aygo – Toyota’s take on the Citroen C1 / Peugeot 108 – arrived at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and probably looks the most credible of the three. And now it’s on sale. Starting price for the new Aygo is a reasonable £8,595 for the Aygo X 3-door with a 5-speed manual ‘box, rising to £12,345 for the Aygo x-clusiv 3-door with x-shift auto ‘box.

Rally Champ Heads To Goodwood

FRENCH car maker Citroen has confirmed that nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb will attend the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, making a comeback behind the wheel of his DS 3 WRC rally car. Loeb will be putting in appearances on the famous Goodwood Hillclimb, as well as the popular Forest Rally Stage on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June. Commenting on the news, Lord March said: "It's very exciting for all of us at Goodwood to be welcoming Sebastien Loeb back to the Festival of Speed.

Call for reform over road repair funding

FUNDING patterns mean most road maintenance is being carried out in "less-efficient, cold and wet" times, a report from a Government spending watchdog has said. The current pattern of funding, combined with the need to spend money within the financial year, means that most maintenance work goes on between September and March, said the report from the National Audit Office (NAO). It went on: "Although this is less disruptive for road users, it is less efficient than carrying out the work at other times of year because materials can be more difficult to handle in cold and wet conditions, and daylight hours are shorter." The report went on: "As a result of the additional funding for emergency repairs, which is made available at the end of the financial year, almost all highways authorities need extra capacity from the market at the same time, which makes it less likely that they will get value for money." The NAO report said there was a "lack of predictability" over road spending adding that historically, local highway authorities spent more revenue on maintenance, but were now carrying out fewer routine activities such as clearing gullies which are essential to preventing water seeping into roads' sub-structure.

FCA issues warning on logbook loans

VULNERABLE people who use their car as security to take out a loan are finding themselves squeezed even harder financially and even threatened, the City regulator has found. The Financial Conduct Authority warned it will put firms offering logbook loans out of action if they do not "dramatically" improve their standards, after finding evidence of poor behaviour including little or no affordability checks being carried out and some applicants being encouraged to manipulate details of their income. It said lenders are failing to properly spell out exactly how expensive such debts will be, with the true cost often masked by an emphasis on "low" weekly repayments and key terms and conditions buried in small print.