Renault Samsung SM7 Concept Teased ahead of Seoul Motor Show

Renault's South Korean brand Samsung released a teaser sketch of the SM7 concept car that previews the next-generation of the firm’s large sedan. The current SM7, which is built on Nissan’s J31 platform that underpins the Asian market Nissan Teana and the sixth-generation of the North American Nissan Maxima, has been on the market since 2004.

Its successor will be unveiled at the upcoming Seoul Motor Show (April 1-10), in the form of a design study. The teaser image shows a car with a sporty, muscular design, with the front end being dominated by a large trapezoidal grille that is continued in the form of the engine hood. The SM7 Concept sports a low, coupe-like profile that ends in... unknown territory, since the back of the car is hidden from view.

Official details are scarce, but the next SM7 is expected to use an elongated platform of the SM5 (known to Europeans as the Renault Latitude). Developed together with the French automaker, the future SM7 is expected to arrive in production form in the second half of 2011.

There are no plans for selling the car in Europe, since Renault says it doesn't intend to have a bigger car than the Latitude in its range. It could make a nice Safrane though...

By Dan Mihalascu

Renault Rolls Out 1000th Clio Gordini RS

The Renault Alpine plant in Dieppe produced the 1,000th Clio Gordini RS model this month, less than a year after its introduction. Built since May 2010, the Clio Gordini RS is sold in 18 countries, most of them in Europe.

Renault revived the Gordini name at the end of 2009, when it presented the Twingo Gordini RS. Other members of the Gordini family include the Twingo Gordini and more recently, the Wind Gordini, which premiered at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

Although in the past Gordini was linked with motor sports and performance versions of Renault's road cars, currently the name is only used to designate styled-up and better equipped models, with no technical changes at all. Compared to the base Renaultsport Clio, the Gordini version brings only exterior and interior styling tweaks.

Half of Renault's Twingo RS and Clio RS models sold in Europe are wearing the Gordini nameplate and its renowned white stripes. According to Renault, the Twingo RS is the second best sold car of the A sport segment, with a market share of 25 percent in Europe's biggest five markets in 2010, while the Clio RS owns 16 percent of the B sport segment.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Dacia Produces its 4,000,000th Vehicle after 45 Years

Renault's Dacia brand produced its 4,000,000th car at the Mioveni plant in Romania, 45 years after the company’s foundation in 1966. The car with which Dacia achieved the milestone is a 4WD Duster Laureate in a brown finish powered by an 110HP 1.5-liter diesel engine.

Since Renault took over the factory from the Romanian state in 1999, the company has produced close to 2 million cars. Dacia built its 1,000,000th car in 1985, the second million in 1998 and the third million in 2007. Only three and a half years later another million was added, thanks to increased production fuelled by demand and sustained by the €1.2 billion ($1.7 billion) investment Renault made since taking over the Romanian brand.

The Duster is currently Dacia’s best selling model of the brand, with half of the 65 cars produced every hour in Mioveni belonging to the Duster range. Since its launch in 2010, the low-cost SUV received over 100,000 international orders, with Dacia selling nearly 4,900 Dusters in its home market last year.

To celebrate the production milestone, the company released a “how it's made” footage of its 4,000,000th car that you can watch below.

By Dan Mihalascu

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