Renault puts the Wind up rivals...

Another week, another sporty Renault! This is the Wind, a two-seater convertible to rival the Peugeot 207CC which will hit showrooms in the summer. Stopping the clock at just 12 seconds (see video, below), the Wind has got the world’s fastest powered roof. It’s hinged at the rear and just flips over as a single piece, folding into a separate compartment above the boot. This means no loss of luggage space, a first for a folding metal hard-topped car. Here’s the big question – is it a car for blokes? On the face of it, probably not. But Renault is confident it can do something about that. It’s talking about special editions aimed specifically at male buyers. No clues on what those might be, but my money is on black with smoked alloys. What’s very interesting is that the Wind has been developed by Renaultsport but doesn’t wear the badge. I recently chatted to a senior product planner from the French firm who said no decision had been taken about whether there would be a more hardcore RS model in the future. He was also talking up the car’s performance, saying it's very much a sports car and not a city runabout that happens to be a convertible. Time will tell.