Honda Accordd 94-95 Trunk Lid, Except Wagon on 2040-parts.com

Merc to revive straight six, plus 4cyl and smaller V8s

Mercedes has just signed off a new engine family which will see most full-sized Mercs in future run four-cylinders, downsized V8s and… straight sixes. A friendly Mercedes engineer recently met CAR to disclose the engine plans for future models, including the surprise disclosure that Merc plans to switch to straight sixes, like its rivals over in Munich.  It's fair to say I almost choked on my breakfast croissant when I found out the details of the next MB engine generation which has just been signed off for release in 2015. Mercedes' future four-cylinder engines Again, there will be a family of new low-cost fours, and the big-bore V8s will be replaced by a series of downsized turbocharged 4.0-litre units.

Renault Clio S launched

The new Renault Clio S The last ‘Sporty’ Renault Clio we reported on was the Clio RenaultSport 200 back in April last year. The RenaultSport Clio offers proper hot-hatch performance but isn’t exactly cheap. Plus the real demographic for the little Renault wouldn’t have a prayer of either affording the Clio RenaultSport or managing to insure it.

Don't miss CDNLive, reporting on the best from Paris Motor Show 2014

As ever the Car Design News team will be reporting live from the halls of the Paris Motor Show. After the long summer break we're in the French capital for what promises to be a great event. CDNLive from the Paris Motor Show We're looking forward to turning our attention to a promising list of production-car debuts of all shapes and sizes, from the new Smart ForTwo and Opel Corsa to the Volvo XC90 and Renault Espace, via Mazda's new MX-5, the Fiat 500X and Jaguar XE.