Renault-Nissan head honcho Carlos Ghosn is at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and has notched two years under his belt as chair of the Automotive Committee.

From Davos, Ghosn made several comments regarding the state of the automotive market. Regarding BRICS — an acronym for the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — Ghosn says Renault-Nissan is still sees much room for growth. In western Europe, there are 500 cars for every 1,000 people. For Russia, that number is 300 per 1,000, Brazil has 200, China has just over 100 and India has just 25.

On whether the drop in oil prices will affect sales of electric vehicles (the Nissan Leaf is the best-selling EV in the world), Ghosn says that there will be a drop from those who buy EVs primarily for fuel-saving purposes. However, while the price of oil is unpredictable, ever stricter emissions controls are clearly in the future. That is especially true in large markets like China and the US, so no matter how far the price of oil falls, zero-emissions cars will still have to be a major strategy for any automaker wanting to play in those markets.

The WEC is a who’s who conference of 2,500 of the world’s most influential movers and shakers — titans of industry, heads of state and media gather to discuss the state of the world and shape the policy that affects much of the planet. However, the gathering has also received criticism for privileging an elite group of moneyed individuals.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance, which also owns Russian automaker AvtoVaz, builds one out of every 10 cars sold in the world. Ghosn’s committee serves in an advisory role for many policy makers, and as such as holds a lot of sway over governments when it comes to motorization.

Mitsubishi is promising the “Return of a Legend” at the Chicago Auto Show in February. The company has released a teaser image with the silhouette of an SUV perched atop a sand dune.

The teaser image has led some to predict that the Montero or Pajero nameplate will be making a return. The Montero, as you may recall, was Mitsubishi’s large SUV sold in the US from 1982 to 2006. However, that was a concession to the North American market, as its true name elsewhere in the world was Pajero, a species of Patagonian leopard. Unfortunately, “pajero” is, in some Latin American countries, also a slang term for an onanist. The SUV has also been sold as the Dodge Raider and, in the UK, the Mitsubishi Shogun.

The Pajero is legendary for being one the winningest car ever in the grueling Dakar Rally, which Mitsubishi has won 12 times, including a record-breaking seven times in a row between 2001-07, until the automaker pulled out of the event following the global financial crisis and a drastic change in the race due to threat of terrorism.

However, Autoblog is reporting that Mitsubishi spokesman Alex Fedorak has said that the company is “giving the GC-PHEV concept its North American debut, after originally unveiling it at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. While it’s purely a concept, the vehicle is “a designer’s rendering of what a new Montero could look like.”

The Chicago Auto Show begins February 12.

Images by Ben Hsu.

Ferrari has traveled to the Dream Cars section of the Brussels Motor Show to introduce a one-off F12berlinetta.
Designed and built by Ferrari’s Tailor Made division, the custom F12berlinetta Tour de France 64 is a tribute to the 250 GTO that Lucien Bianchi and Georges Berger drove to victory in the 1964 edition of the Tour de France Automobile.

The one-off F12 is painted in a shade of silver called Argento Auteil that is accented by a yellow cross-stripe on the hood. Ferrari says the yellow is a modern take on the Modena Yellow hue that adorned the 250s raced by Ecurie Francorchamps in the 1960s.

Most of the updates are found in the cockpit, where the F12 gains body-colored aluminum trim with yellow accents and seats upholstered with vintage-looking tobacco heritage Mahagoni leather upholstery. A triangular metal pattern on the floor harks back to the 1960s while the headliner is upholstered in Mycro Prestige, a water-repellent and breathable fabric.

Ferrari has not made any mechanical modifications, meaning the Tour de France 64 is powered by a stock F12berlinetta-sourced naturally-aspirated 6.3-liter V12 engine that makes 730 horsepower and 509 lb-ft. of torque. The sprint from zero to 60 mph takes 3.1 seconds and top speed is reached at 211 mph.

The one-off F12 will likely be sold after the Brussels Motor Show. How much of a premium the Tour de France 64 commands over a stock F12 is not known.

Peugeot has teamed up with Italian motorcycle manufacturer Bimota to build a limited-edition RCZ R.
Presented at the Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy, the RCZ R Bimota Edition gains a number of mechanical upgrades including a new blow-off valve, a new exhaust system and a remapped ECU. The modifications bump the 1.6-liter turbo four’s power output to 304 horsepower, a 30-pony increase over the stock model.

Four-piston calipers that grip larger discs up front and a lowered suspension system all around help keep the power in check.

Visually, the Bimota Edition is immediately recognizable thanks to a black, red and white paint job inspired by Bimota’s race bikes, HID headlights and black multi-spoke alloy wheels with contrasting red accents. The Bimota comes standard with the carbon fiber roof panel that is available as an option on the standard R.

The interior has been spruced up with Alcantara upholstery on the steering wheel and the dashboard, red bezels around the gauges and the air vents and a TomTom Bridge infotainment system controlled by a seven-inch screen. The screen can also be used to view footage captured by the two integrated GoPro cameras.

Peugeot has not revealed when the RCZ R Bimota will go on sale, how much it will cost and how many examples will be built.