Auto For Speed

Renault has released details of the special edition Renault Megane RS N4 – a Group N tarmac rally package for private pilots and trainers.

The N4 comes with a slight power boost over the standard RS model, featuring a 2.0 liter turbocharged engine producing 270 PS (266 bhp / 199 kW) and 470 Nm of torque – series is 250 PS (247 bhp / 184 kW) and 340 Nm.

The suspension gets a “Cup” upgrade by a collaboration between Renault and Swedish suspension specialist Öhlins. There’s also a roll bar and Sabelt racing seats with a 6-point harness.

Larger disc brakes are also part of the special edition package, fitting 355mm discs and 4-piston Brembo calipers to the front and 290mm ones for the rear wheels. The N4 features a limited-slip differential.

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The Lamborghini Gallardo is a sports car built by Lamborghini. The Gallardo is Lamborghini’s most-produced model to date, with over 10,000 built in its first seven years of production. The car is named after a famous breed of fighting bull. The Spanish word gallardo translates into “gallant”.

The Gallardo offers two choices of transmissions, a conventional (H-Box) six-speed manual transmission, and an advanced six-speed electro-hydraulically controlled semi-automatic robotized manual, which Lamborghini abbreviates to “E-gear”. The “E-gear” allows the driver to make shifts much faster than a manual transmission would. The driver shifts up and down via paddles behind the steering wheel, but also has an automatic mode.

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The new Audi A6, going on sale in Germany in early 2011, has no need to adopt the fashionable coupe-like look, because that job is done by the A7. Instead it emphasizes its role as a traditional executive sedan, and its silhouette is little changed from the outgoing car — or indeed, the one before that. But the detailing is far richer.

The A6′s beautiful — and beautifully made — interior shares much with the Audi A7. The dashboard uses wood reminiscent of a 1960s luxury speedboat, with a wrapping element around the driver and passenger, running away from the dash and into the doors. The MMI unit has an optional handwriting-recognition pad, like the Audi A8 and A7. A head-up display also appears on the Audi A6 options list for the first time. The center dash screen, 6.5 or 8 inches depending on the level of MMI, deploys electrically from a recess in the dash.

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The golden crest is gone, but the Chrysler name is still spelled out and surrounded by a pair of wings atop the front-grille frame. The eggcrate grille has been swapped for one composed of sculpted horizontal slats, as seen on the Chrysler 200 and Town & Country (and, unfortunately, the Hyundai Sonata). Projector-beam headlights have evolved to incorporate must-mean-it’s-luxury LEDs.

Although the windshield is more steeply raked, the upright proportions, boxy roofline, and purposeful stance clearly recall the car that nabbed our Golden Calipers back in 2005. But now it’s more refined and less cartoonish. Gone are the slab sides and sharp creases that hint at Gotham City chase scenes and staccato tommy-gun fire. Though the muscular wheel arches remain, softer lines and smoother arcs shape the hood and trunklid, while chrome-trimmed taillights serve as a dramatic flourish to this top-hat-to-spats reformulation. The LED daytime running lights are arranged in the shape of a “C” in Chrysler’s honor.

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Following its unveiling at Geneva Motor Show, Infiniti has released new information about the 2012 M35h.

Described as a “driver’s hybrid,” the M35h features a 302 hp (225 kW / 306 PS) 3.5-liter V6 engine and a 50 kW (67 hp / 68 PS) electronic motor. Final specifications are still pending, but Infiniti says the car has a combined output of 360 hp (268 kW / 365 PS) and an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 25 mpg city / 30 mpg highway.

To get those impressive figures, engineers installed a lithium-ion battery which enables the car to travel up to 1.2 miles (1.9 km) on electricity alone. More importantly, the electric motor can power the car up to speeds of 62 mph (100 km) which greatly improves efficiency.

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