Renault Wants to Turn Alpine Into a 'Mini Ferrari'
Welcome to The Grid, R&T's quick roundup of the auto industry and motorsports news you should know this morning.
Renault Wants to Turn Alpine Into a "Mini Ferrari"
Renault's revived sports-car brand, Alpine, is enjoying significant critical acclaim, but sales of the A110 aren't all that significant. Still, Renault is doubling down on Alpine, even if it's looking to cut costs elsewhere. Bloomberg (via Automotive News Europe) reports that new Renault CEO Luca de Meo wants to turn Alpine into a "mini Ferrari." One of De Meo's first major decisions as CEO was to set in motion a rebranding of the Renault Formula 1 team to Alpine for 2021, while the brand will also enter LMP1 racing next year as well. On the road-car side, De Meo wants Alpine EVs and a rival to the Porsche 911. Alpine could be a good source of profit for Renault, as its cars are more expensive than mass-market models the company sells.
Mercedes Will Bring EQS Sedan to the U.S. Before the EQC
The first mass-market Mercedes-Benz EV to come to the U.S. was supposed to be the EQC crossover, but its arrival was delayed indefinitely. Automotive News now reports that Mercedes will instead bring the EQS sedan here first, with the EQC's reveal possibly pushed back to 2022. The EQS is the electric companion to the S-Class sedan, and it should be more profitable than the EQC. Automotive News also believes that one reason why the EQC isn't yet coming to the U.S. is its low range figure. The EQC will do around 300 miles to a charge, but that's on the less-strict European NEDC test cycle; based on EPA standards, that figure will be closer to 200. When a base Tesla Model Y offers 326 miles of range, low-200s simply isn't good enough.
Racing Point to Upgrade to 2020 Mercedes Gearbox and Rear Suspension for 2021
Next year's Formula 1 cars will be largely carryovers of this year's, but some upgrades will be allowed. Racing Point used the gearbox and rear suspension from the 2019 Mercedes for its current car, and under the regulations, Motorsport.com reports that it's allowed to upgrade to 2020 gearbox and rear suspension components for next year. This is somewhat controversial, as the 2020 Racing Point is largely a copy of the 2019 Mercedes, and its speed has put the team at the top of the midfield. With these new upgrades, expect similar results for the team—set to be rebranded as Aston Martin—next year.
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