Renault will introduce the fourth-generation Megane station wagon at next week’s Geneva Auto Show.

Called Sport Tourer, the wagon is aimed right at the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and the Peugeot 308 SW. It’s identical to the Megane hatchback when viewed from the front, meaning it stands out from the outgoing model thanks to a more evocative design characterized by sharp headlights, LED daytime running lights that stretch well into the bumper, and a four-slat grille with a huge Renault emblem. The tail lamps are carried over from the hatchback, but a wrap-around rear window gives the wagon a floating roof.

The cabin receives a tablet-like touch screen that runs the latest generation of Renault’s R-Link infotainment system, while buyers who want an added dose of tech can pay extra to get a digital instrument cluster. The dashboard’s layout has been simplified to give the Megane a cleaner look, and the cabin is built using materials that feel nicer than the ones found in the last-gen Megane.

Technical details haven’t been announced yet, but it’s safe to bet the Megane Sport Tourer will launch with three- and four-cylinder gasoline- and diesel-burning engines borrowed from the Renault-Nissan parts bin. A more aggressive-looking GT model (pictured) will sit at the top of the range, but the wagon won’t spawn a full-blown Renaultsport-tuned model.

The Renault Megane Sport Tourer will go on sale across Europe and in an array of overseas markets in the coming months. On the Renault stand in Geneva, the wagon will share the spotlight with the all-new Scenic MPV.

The aftermarket hot rodders at Callaway have officially announced a supercharged Camaro good for 610 horsepower.

A preview of the Callaway Camaro was released earlier this year, but at the time the horsepower figure given was an even 600. Since then, the company’s tuning wizards have squeezed out an additional 10 horses, giving birth to the Callaway Camaro SC610.

The SC, naturally, refers to the GenThree TVS2300 supercharger bolted to the 6.2-liter V8. Working in conjunction with a cold air intake, reprogrammed engine computer, and a “TripleCooled” intercooler system made up of three individual intercoolers, an additional 155 ponies were added to the stock Camaro V8′s stable of 455. The 610 references not just the horsepower, but the 610 pound-feet of torque on tap.

Cosmetically , the Callaway SC610 adds a carbon fiber engine cover, nine-spoke FlowForged wheels, and numerous examples of Callaway badging throughout. The SC610 treatment will be offered on both coupe and convertibles, with completed cars built at Callaway’s Connecticut shop starting at $54,290. For those who already have a Camaro and are looking for a weekend project, the kit itself can be had for $16,995.

In the months after Volkswagen’s industry-rocking scandal, in which it was discovered to be cheating on emissions tests with purportedly “clean” diesels, the scrutiny has been dialed up on all automakers across the board. Now Mercedes-Benz is the defendant in a lawsuit alleging that its BlueTec diesels are cheating too.

The lawsuit, filed in New Jersey, claims that Mercedes installed a device that that can turn off a system used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions during operation at cooler temperatures, reports Bloomberg. Specifics were not given, but the suit was brought by a Mercedes owner in Illinois and filed by agens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a firm that is also involved in the suit against Volkswagen.

A spokesman for Benz parent company Daimler AG, Joerg Howe, denied the merits of the lawsuit, saying that “All our vehicles comply with regulatory frameworks” and rebuked the accusation as “baseless.” “All our vehicles are certified according to the laws.” Howe reaffirmed.

Hagens Berman insists on the veracity of the allegation and quoted an article in German paper Der Spiegel, in which Mercedes acknowledged that the nitrogen oxide shut-off was done to protect the engine. Another study conducted independently by Dutch authorities discovered that in real world driving the Mercedes C220 contained more nitrogen oxide in its exhaust than it did in the lab.

The suit says that the cold shut-off system was not disclosed to buyers, and that it was installed so that power and performance would not suffer.

A spy video shot in Germany has prematurely revealed the first-ever Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet. Mercedes’ smallest ragtop is scheduled to make its public debut in a little over a week at the Geneva Auto Show.

The Cabriolet is nearly identical to the 2017 C-Class Coupe that bowed in Frankfurt last September from the rocker panels up to the belt line. Beyond that, it gains a cloth soft top that quickly opens or closes at the push of a button. Much like the C-Class Coupe is a shrunken-down S-Class Coupe, the C-Class Cabriolet looks like a miniature version of the S-Class Cabriolet.

Mechanically, the Cabriolet will be almost identical to the coupe. It will launch with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine tuned to send 241 horsepower and 273 lb-ft. of torque to the rear wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive will be offered at an extra cost, and a six-cylinder engine — possibly a brand new straight-six sourced from the 2017 E-Class — will be added to the lineup a few months into the production run.

A hot-rodded Cabriolet massaged by Mercedes-AMG will take on the topless BMW M4. Like its coupe and sedan siblings, it will be powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine rated at 469 horsepower and 479 lb-ft. of torque in its most basic configuration. The C63 will be capable of hitting 60 mph from a stop in roughly four seconds before going on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph.

The 2017 Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet will be introduced online in the next few days. It’s scheduled to land in showrooms nationwide this fall as a 2017 model.

Following a leak, Maserati has published official pictures of the 2017 Levante, its first-ever SUV.

Although inspired by the Kubang concept that debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, it’s clear that Maserati designers have been tweaking the SUV’s look over the last five years. The production-intent Levante features a more serious looking front end with headlights that have adopted a horizontal treatment. A large, concave grille remains — complete with the Maserati logo on the middle — but the lower section of the utility vehicle’s bumper has been reworked for a more up-scale appearance.

The side of the Levante features Maserati’s signature portholes, as well as a rear fender character line that mimic the ones found on the Quattroporte sedan. The rear of the Levante features a sharply-raked tailgate and sporty-looking quad exhaust outlets.

Leaked interior shots reveal the Levante uses Maserati’s familiar cabin layout, including steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters to reflect the SUV’s athletic nature. This particular model is outfitted with red leather that exemplifies Maserati’s Italian flair.

Also leaked was a screen shot of the Levante’s option sheet. According to the leak, the Levante will be available in at least three different trim levels — 350, 430 and Diesel. The Levante 350 will use a turbocharged 3.0L V6 and will presumably pack 350 horsepower. It will be capable of accelerating from 0-62 in 6.3 seconds, with a top speed of 151mph. The Levante 430 will use the same 3.0L V6, but probably tuned to 430 horsepower. It will sprint from 0-62 in 5.2 seconds and have a 164mph top speed.

The Levante Diesel, which will likely be limited to the European market, will use a 3.0L V6 of unspecified horsepower. The oil-burning Levante will be capable of accelerating from 0-62 in 6.9 seconds and will be capable of hitting 143mph. Although not listed, it’s believed that the Levante will also be available with a V8 engine tuned with input from Ferrari. That eight-cylinder model should be good for 580 horsepower.

Be sure to check for more details when the Maserati Levante is presented in Geneva on March 1st.

Nissan would like to remind you to check for cats under the hood, and has created a new public service announcement about it in Japan.

“Cats are cute but they can be a bit clumsy,” says a video, released in Japanese for the campaign, as a montage plays of felines playing, relaxing, and generally acting adorable. “They love keeping themselves warm. They even sneak under car hoods during the cold of winter,” it continues.

Cats often like to cozy up to cars because of the heat generated from their engines, and the fact that automobiles have numerous nooks and crannies to in which hide from the elements. Another montage shows cats cradled behind grilles, in wheel wells, and even ones that have managed to climb on top of an engine under a closed hood.

So how does one keep from harming these creatures? The campaign is called Knock Knock Cats (there is even a hashtag, #KnockKnockCats) and asks drivers to tap on the hood of the car loudly before firing up the ignition. That should scare away any stray animals that may have taken refuge under the hood of your car.

“We hope this movie helps people to realize that the little efforts can save precious lives and encourage more people to knock on car hoods,” says the video. Watch it below.

Daimler’s smart division has confirmed it will introduce a sportier version of the 2017 smart fortwo cabrio tuned by Brabus at next month’s Geneva Auto Show.

Designed to sit at the very top of the fortwo cabrio lineup, the performance-focused Brabus model will be powered by an evolution of the standard fortwo’s 0.9-liter three-cylinder engine tuned to generate anywhere between 110 and 120 horsepower. In comparison, the last-gen Brabus had about 100 horsepower on tap. Power will be sent to the rear wheels, but whether the mill will be bolted to a manual or an automatic gearbox is not known.

The tiny two-seater will undoubtedly be fitted with upgraded brakes and a firmer suspension setup in order to cope with the extra ponies. It’s also rumored to receive a quicker steering system that will help make the Lilliputian city car more responsive to drive.

Visually, the Brabus fortwo will stand out from its regular-production counterpart thanks to a model-specific grille, deeper bumpers on both ends, blacked out headlights, and large alloy wheels. Twin exhaust pipes will round out the major exterior updates.

The smart fortwo cabrio Brabus will go on sale in Europe this summer.

Photos by Ronan Glon.

Recently revived by a group of Chinese investors, German boutique car maker Gumpert will travel to the Geneva Auto Show to introduce its next model.

Gumpert has been renamed Apollo Automobil by its new owners, and its first car is called simply N. Details are vague at best, but the flared fender visible in the teaser shot suggests the N is an evolution of the Gumpert Apollo, the only model the automaker has ever manufactured. The two cars seemingly share styling cues such as a steeply-raked windshield, gullwing doors, and large air vents behind the wheel arches.

Published on Faceboook, Apollo’s teaser is accompanied by a brief blurb that explains the company’s engineers are developing the fastest road car on the planet. Technical details are being kept under wraps for the time being, so whether the N will continue to use Audi-sourced mechanical components is up in the air at this point. Similarly, the teaser doesn’t specify if Apollo wants the N to be the fastest car to 60, the car with the highest top speed, or both.

All told, Apollo’s teaser asks more questions than it answers. We’ll bring you live images and more details about the Apollo N live from the Geneva Auto Show starting on March 1st.

The 2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder is the perfect example of addition by subtraction. By simply removing the roof, Lamborghini has injected the already flamboyant Huracan Coupe with an added dose of style and drama.

In fact, Lamborghini doesn’t just refer to the Huracan Spyder as a topless sports car, but rather as a “lifestyle” car. Fitting, then, that Lamborghini hosted us in Miami, Florida, for the global launch of the 2016 Huracan Spyder.

Along came a Spyder
Following in the footsteps of other Lamborghini roadsters that came before it, the Huracan Spyder is launching about two years after the market introduction of its hardtop counterpart. That’s a calculated move on Lamborghini’s part as two years can be an eternity in the high-dollar sports car segment where image is king. More than just another convertible for the Lamborghini lineup, the Spyder is a way of keeping the Huracan fresh and interesting.

But that’s not to say Lamborghini completely disregarded the Huracan Coupe’s blueprint when designing the Huracan Spyder. Designers and engineers alike worked hard to translate the Coupe’s hexagonal greenhouse shape to the Spyder’s retractable soft top. It’s not an identical match, but it’s clear that the Coupe and Spyder are very close relatives.

The Spyder’s cloth roof stores neatly behind the front seats in about 17 seconds. The roof can be raised or lowered at speeds up to 31mph. The Huracan Spyder’s top end, however, isn’t capped by any such restrictions — Lamborghini says it can do 201mph with the top up or down.

Although the Huracan Coupe rides on an extremely stiff chassis made of aluminum and carbon fiber, some additional bracing was required for the open-top setup of the Huracan Spyder. As such, the Spyder weighs about 265 pounds more than the coupe. Weight distribution, however, remains essentially the same across the two cars.

That extra weight isn’t much of an issue for the Huracan’s 5.2L V10, which cranks out 601 horsepower and 412 lb-ft of torque. The Huracan Spyder is just 0.2 seconds slower than its Coupe counterpart to 60 with a clocked time of 3.4 seconds. It should also be noted that the Spyder’s 201mph top speed is 1mph short of the Coupe’s terminal velocity.

Likewise, that added weight dings the Spyder’s overall fuel economy, though we suspect few buyers will give much mind to the EPA’s final ratings.

Charting the changes
Although Lamborghini was keen on keeping the Spyder as similar to the Coupe as possible, there are a few key differences.

First off, the Huracan Spyder’s cabin feels noticeably more cramped than the Coupe’s with the top up. That’s not only due to the roadster’s inherent blind spots, but also because the roof’s triple-layer construction eats into headroom a bit. You also lose the rear window into the Huracan’s engine room when you opt for the Spyder treatment, which is something the 12-year old gearhead in all of us will surely lament. But while the top-up experience in the Huracan Spyder is admittedly compromised, those criticisms melt away when the sun is shining and the roof is stowed.

Flip the switch in the Huracan Spyder’s center console and in 17-seconds headroom is no longer an issue. And with the roof and its vast B-pillars gone, outward visibility is obviously much improved. The Huracan Spyder could still benefit from a blind spot monitoring system — which is blatantly missing from the car’s option sheet — but the roadster is easier to maneuver around city traffic than its fixed-roof sibling.

On the road
Despite being tagged as a lifestyle vehicle, the Huracan Spyder remains very much a driver’s car. On paper, the Spyder may be a little heavier and a little slower than the Coupe, but you’d never guess that from behind the wheel. Acceleration is brisk and steering is sharp. But more importantly, the Spyder feels just as solid as the fixed-roof Coupe.

Like the Coupe, the Huracan Spyder is surprisingly easy to drive. The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is equally at home loafing through the center of town as it is banging through the gears on the open road. The Huracan is “right-sized” in any form, so it’s not particularly difficult to squeeze through small openings. The ride in the Huracan Spyder is stiff, but not uncomfortable. You can even order a front axle lifting system that ensures you won’t rip the Huracan’s nose off at every driveway junction.

The real differentiating factor between the Huracan Coupe and Huracan Spyder is not in the way the cars drive, but rather in the way they make you feel. In the Coupe, you’re locked into a cocoon-like cockpit, with the driving experience as the sole focus. In the Spyder, it’s all about seeing the world, and being seen in it. If you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle, it’s like the sensation of driving in the countryside rather than just through it.

The Spyder’s lack of roof also means you get an unobstructed earful from the Huracan’s quad-exhaust pipes, and what an earful it is. Angry and soulful all at the same time, the exhaust note sounds as if Lamborghini packed 10 tiny version of Luciano Pavarotti into the Huracan’s engine block. Best of all, those mini Pavarottis can carry a tune all the way up to 8,250rpm.

Adding it all up
Playing up on its lifestyle positioning, Lamborghini had us driving the Huracan Spyder mostly around the flashy streets of South Beach. And since we were in South Florida, we also had the pleasure of driving through rain that was borderline torrential at times.

Although city traffic isn’t the ideal backdrop for testing the limits of a supercar like the Huracan Spyder, it did give us an opportunity to use the car as most owners probably do. As we mentioned earlier, the Spyder’s cabin can be a little claustrophobic with the top up, but we were pleasantly surprised by the sound insulation provided by the cloth top. And although Lamborghinis of yore were often plagued by quality issues, we didn’t witness any such defects in the Huracan Spyder — the car’s cloth roof fit snugly without any kind of water intrusion. We were also happy to have the stability of all-wheel drive on some of the more rain-soaked stretches of tarmac.

Later in the day both the rain clouds and the traffic parted, allowing us to see a different side of the Huracan Spyder. And of course we took advantage of the Spyder’s 31mph roof operation speed, because it’s just so much cooler to lower the roof while on-the-go.

In order to cut down on wind turbulence in the cabin, the Huracan Spyder uses a small window in the center of the vehicle and two wind guards just to the sides of the headrests. The setup works well, allowing passengers to hold a normal conversation at cruising speeds. If you prefer the wind-in-your-hair feeling, the window can be electrically lowered and the side guards can be removed.

Leftlane’s bottom line
A supercar for the super stylish, the Huracan Spyder might be the fastest accessory money can buy.

But unlike some convertibles that can feel like watered down versions of their coupe siblings, the Huracan Spyder lives up to its Lamborghini badge. If anything the Spyder treatment only adds to the Huracan driving experience, which is the kind of math we can get behind.

2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder base price, $264,050. As tested, $302,150.
Blu Cepheus pearl effect paint, $11,900; Sportivo bi-color leather interior, $3,500; Contrast stitching, $700; Sport exhaust system, $2,800; Branding package, $1,000; Floor mats with leather piping, $700; Lifting system, $3,500; 20-inch wheels, $5,600; Front and rear parking sensors with rear view camera, $3,900; Navigation, $3,200; Black calipers, $1,300; Gas guzzler tax, $1,700; Destination, $3,495.

Photos courtesy of Lamborghini