Thursday, October 12, 2006

Renaultsport roadster by 2010

Filed under: Convertibles Sports/GTs Euro

As the reigning world champions - poised to secure one if not both titles for a second straight year - Renault hasn't done much to bank on its Formula One success with its model range. It seems the best it could muster is a special edition of the Megane hatchback. But the createur d'automobiles is looking to change that with a roadster to compete with the Mazda MX-5.

Renaultsport chief Alain Dassas confirmed the roadster will hit the market by 2010 with a £19570 sticker price in the UK. That should be fairly competitive with the Mazda which (for comparison's sake) ranges from £15650 to £20710 in the British market and was enjoying more elbow room after the cancellation of the Toyota MR2. No more info is available on the upcoming French spider at this point but it promises to be a more serious contender than the Renault Sport Spider (pictured) from the late 90's with its optional windscreen (!) and complete lack of a roof of any kind.

If the old "win on Sunday sell on Monday" adage has any truth to it the new roadster should give the Mazda a good run for its money and give Renault a sporty model as a practical halo for the entire range.

[Source: Auto Express]

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