Paris-based Renault has filed a trademark application to protect the name Renault Tennessee, fueling speculations that the automaker will return to the United States after a roughly 25-year hiatus.
Details surrounding the trademark application are hazy. Auto Evolution reports it was filed in a German office last fall and that the name is not registered as being tied to an automobile, meaning Renault is not planning on introducing a car – or a trim level – dubbed Tennessee.

Renault could be preparing to build at least one car in sister company Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee, factory, though it is too early to tell which model(s) are being considered. Executives have hinted that the upcoming Alpine sports car stands a good chance of being sold in the United States but it will only be built in the historic Dieppe, France, factory. Besides, it’s unlikely that Renault-Nissan would invest in Smyrna for such a low volume model.

The company has not commented on the trademark application. If it really does signal a return to the U.S., the first Renault-badged cars are not expected to arrive here until the end of the decade at the very earliest.

A Renault in disguise

In a way, Renault will return to the United States next fall when smart launches the 2016 fortwo. The fortwo rides on the same platform as the third-generation Renault Twingo (pictured), it is powered by a Renault-sourced turbocharged three-cylinder engine and the two pint-sized econoboxes share a number of bits and pieces on the inside.

Amateur spy shots taken in South Korea suggest that Hyundai is working on a rally-inspired mid-engined version of the Veloster coupe.
Details are vague at best, but the mid-engined prototype shown in the pictures borrows numerous styling cues from the Veloster Midship concept that was shown last year at the Busan Motor Show. Fitted with only two doors, it features flared fenders all around, large air vents in front of the rear wheels and a full body kit that includes a deep front bumper and a large air diffuser out back.

The mid-engined Veloster sits much lower than its regular-production sibling and it rides on oversized multi-spoke alloy wheels. If launched, it will undoubtedly be the most muscular-looking small hatchback built since Renault stuffed a 3.0-liter V6 in the passenger compartment of the unassuming Clio econobox.

What the hot-rodded Veloster is powered by is a mystery. The concept shown in Busan nearly a year ago used a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder mill that generated 295 horsepower, nearly 100 more than the top-spec Veloster Turbo. Performance figures were not published.

Hyundai has declined to comment about the mid-engined Veloster. The test mule could preview a wild, range-topping version of the coupe, or it could simply be an ambitious enthusiast’s project.