Suzuki marks Vitara’s 25th birthday with latest version

Suzuki will launch its latest Vitara 4x4 at the Paris Motor Show next month, 25 years on from the launch of the original Vitara, a car that predated the SUV boom by more than a decade. There are no technical details yet about the car, but it will feature petrol and diesel engines and the company's Allgrip selectable four wheel drive system. It's likely that those petrol and diesel engines will once again be supplied by Fiat, whose association with Suzuki triggered the Japanese car maker's acrimonious divorce from the Volkswagen Group last year. The new Vitara will go on sale in Ireland next spring.

Renault Alpine goes from standalone model to full range

The new Renault Alpine sports car will not be a standalone model but will instead spearhead a full new range of sporting cars. That's the hope of Renault chief designer Laurens Van Der Acker, who told Autocar Magazine at the Moscow Motor Show that "as with many things we need to have a good business first. We all love Alpines but we all want to make money as well. Let's get the first car right and then I hope I can start doing Alpines for the rest of my life."

The new sports car will be ready for public consumption next year and Renault says that it will be more about driving pleasure than engine power, with a maximum output of around 250hp being spoken of. The car was originally a joint development with British sports car maker Caterham, but the Brits pulled out at the last minute, after an ownership change.

Peugeot warms up for launch of hotter 308 hatchback

Peugeot is likely to unveil a hot version of the 308 hatchback at the upcoming Paris Motor Show, but it won’t be the full-on 308 R that we’ve been expecting. While that, ultimate, 308 waits in the wings, probably using the 267hp 1.6-litre turbo engine from the RCZ-R coupe, the car that will be shown in Paris will instead use the 200hp engine currently seein the 208 GTI. It’s likely that Peugeot will avoid using the GTI badge though, to avoid generatiing overly-high expectations of the car’s performance. Instead, it’s likely to be badged RC and will be a “warm” rather than full-on “hot” hatch.