#french

Entering its third generation and built in partnership with French automaker Renault, spy photos of the next Smart ForTwo have just surfaced.

It might sound like an oxymoron to hear Toyota iQ City Racer, with its 1.3L VVT-i engine pumping out the ever-so massive 98-hp. But that’s not going to stop Toyota from releasing a limited edition iQ aimed at the French market with some sporty aesthetic modifications.

The only Japanese manufacturer to ever win the prestigious 24-Hours of Le Mans so far has been Mazda with its 787B. Toyota has been wanting to change that for nearly two decades now. Their last effort in the LMP1 class failed, but next year they’ll be back with a vengeance, using a hybrid racer.

In recent years, Mitsubishi has been given a lifeline by the PSA group, which owns Peugeot and Citroen. Both of these French companies have made their own versions of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Outlander SUV.

In an interview with a Dutch magazine, Wolfgang Dürheimer, the current CEO of Bugatti and Bentley has said that it is not possible to integrate the two. He added that the Super Sport has very fine tuned aerodynamics, which will not be applicable to an open-top car. And while the Grand Sport did receive extra structural rigidity, the all carbon-fiber monocoque of the Super Sport is even stiffer.

Bugatti has built the fastest production cars in the world, but their next project will be a little different. Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer confirmed that the new 16 C Galibier concept, which gives an indication as to their next production car, will have four seats and have a generous trunk for luggage.

It has been two-years since Bugatti pulled the covers off their Galibier super-sedan concept, and while they had made much noise about the concept when it was revealed, not much has been said about this car since.

After years of Citroen dominating the World Rally Championship, Fiat is getting ready to challenge the French automaker’s dominance with their own entry, based on the Punto Abarth.

A couple decades ago, Toyota decided to launch their upcoming MR2 sports car in Europe. The MR2 was a good car on its own, but Toyota had a bit of a marketing blunder on its hands when they discovered that MR2 was pronounced “mere-deux” in French, which is similar to merde a not so nice word for doo-doo.

Last week we reported about the Citroen Metropolis and its goals to rival German automotive manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz, specifically in the China market. Low and behold a few days later, the first photos of the Citroen Metropolis in its full reality have surfaced.

Now that we’re able to admire every angle imaginable of the vehicle, we can tell that Citroen is fairly on point in terms of styling for the luxury sedan market, perhaps even setting a new standard in design. What is unique to the Metropolis, that is clearly evident in these photos, is its lower roof-line that is reminiscent of Citroen’s GT supercar concept circa 2008.

As we mentioned before, the Citroen Metropolis is eco-friendly with an electric motor powering it at low speeds but while on the freeway a 2.0L V6 contributes 272-hp. Citroen claims that with both the electric and V6 engines working harmoniously, they put out 460-hp combined.

We’ll be keeping our eyes tight on this concept and hopefully it will become a reality. One thing is for sure, competition is never a bad thing, with the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide paving the way, things are looking bright in this market. Make sure to check out the video of this beauty after the break.

[Source: Carscoop]

Gallery: Citroen Metropolis Concept