Renault Laguna GT (2008): first official pictures

By Chris Chilton First Official Pictures 22 February 2008 13:02 There are no Renaultsport badges anywhere on the new Renault Laguna GT but the crack chassis team have been hard at work under the skin. The same people who brought us the brilliant Clio Cup are behind the four-wheel steer system on this Laguna’s Active Drive chassis. Twenty years ago Japanese car makers seemed fascinated by the potential benefits of steering cars using both axles (and not just by nailing the throttle in your Starion) but the idea seemed to have disappeared until now.

First BMW i8 for US to be auctioned at Pebble Beach

The Frozen Grey BMW i8 for Pebble Beach The other end of the scale from BMW’s i3 City Car is the BMW i8 Supercar and, despite its modest 1.5 litre range-extender engine for its electric propulsion it seems to offer proper borderline supercar performance. With just an estimated 500 BMW i8s heading for the US this year, BMW has decided it would be a bit of a wheeze to produce a one-off i8 for the US market to plonk in Gooding and Co’s auction at Pebble Beach in August to give one lucky American buyer the chance to jump the queue for the i8 and inject some funds in to Pebble. So they’ve created a special i8 for Pebble which comes with a Frozen Grey Metallic paint job and a titivated interior with Dalbergia Brown Leather upholstery that’s been dyed using plant extracts – all very ‘Green’ – with BMW i Blue for the stitching and highlights.

Hyundai Nuvis Concept makes waves in New York

The Hyundai Nuvis Concept - a startlingly good crossover concept from Hyundai [ad#ad-1] We really do need to start taking the Koreans seriously (if we weren’t already) when it comes to cars. They are moving very rapidly up the ladder and if European car makers, never mind the Americans, aren’t careful there’s going to be another sea-change to rival the one that Japan made a few decades ago. And one to keep watching is definitely Hyundai.