Last week, Renault upped the ante for front-wheel drive models by setting a new lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with its more powerful Mégane Renaultsport Trophy.

The 265-horsepower strong special edition posted a lap time of 8 minutes and 7.97 seconds in the hands of Renault test driver Laurent Hurgon, smashing the previous record for a front-wheel drive model held by the older generation Mégane RS R26.R by nine seconds. Buckle up, sit tight and enjoy the record run in the video after the break.

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One of Europe’s finest hot hatches is about to get better as Renault is readying a new edition of the Megane RS that will be unveiled to the world on June 17, 2011. The French carmaker released a teaser video of the car from the test runs at the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany.

However, that’s about all Renault is willing to reveal for now so we’ll have to wait and see what kind of upgrades the car will feature and if a power boost and / or a weight reduction and chassis enhancements are part of the package.

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Selling a car through advertising isn’t as easy as you might think. What good is it showing your product nimbly taking on Alpine twists and turns when your competitors are doing the same thing? Here are two ads that don’t really break the mould, but try something a little different. Read more »

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Race car drivers are a funny bunch. In this video, we see Brazilian Formula 1 driver and the nephew of the late three-time Formula One world champ Ayrton Senna, Bruno Senna, behind the wheel of the new Renault R30 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. “Oh,” you say in your most jaded tone, “How interesting.” Well it is interesting, as Senna is driving this 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) single-handed while filming the action with a camera phone. Read more »

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It was only a matter of time before someone edited a video of Vitaly Petrov’s spectacular exit from last week’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The Russian pilot of the Lotus Renault F1 team ran too wide at a turn near the end of the race and as he tried to get inside the track again, he hit a bump on the grass that launched the race car high into the air.

The maker of the video thought the scene with the F1 car going airborne looked a lot like something you’d see in The Dukes of Hazzard, hence the audio background. For Petrov, the incident wasn’t as funny as the impact resulted in a broken steering column mount that forced him to retire from the race. Enjoy the clip after the break.

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Evidently, the new Captur small crossover with the removable hardtop we told you about last week won't be the only concept model from Renault to hit the showroom floors of the Geneva Salon in less than two weeks time. A Youtube user managed to scoop a completely undisguised Renault study for a rather sporty looking compact MPV in Lisbon, Portugal. Judging by the black SUV with the camera hooked above the car, it was probably there for a photo shoot. Read more »

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What woman wouldn’t falsely seduce another to steal her shirt? No, this isn’t another one of my sexist rants: it’s a (legitimate?) question posed by a Renault ad that has been banned in Italy.

The ad features two women – who I’ll refer to as the blonde and the brunette – who sneak off together for some hanky-panky bedroom fun. The brunette undresses; the blonde blindfolds her and steals her pink top, later comparing it to the color of her Renault Twingo Miss Sixty.

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The automotive industry has seen many flops during its century-long existence, most of them due to poor thinking and execution. Every once in a while, though, some truly innovative vehicles receive the axe simply because they were ahead of their time.

Renault’s Avantime is one such an example. Built in cooperation with Matra, the coupe-MPV was unlike anything else on the road when it was launched in 2001. Unfortunately, buyers weren’t ready to embrace such a radical vehicle. Ironically, a decade later, oddities like the BMW X6 and Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet are on the verge of becoming trendsetters.

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I don’t have children, but I bet school runs can become pretty boring. However, if parents could get their hands on a Renault Espace F1, I’m sure they'd sing to a different tune when they'd return back from school... Unveiled in 1995, this über-Espace was not your typical soccer-mom transporter. Created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the French MPV and Renault’s decade-long involvement in Formula 1, the concept was literally an F1 racer in disguise. Read more »

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Former Russian President and now Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is doing his best to remain in the spotlight. After his country decided to back the Renault F1 team, by branding it with Lada advertisements, Mr. Putin was invited to drive the R30 Formula One racer at a special event held in St. Petersburg. Video after the break.

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