Today, Renault announced that the Renault Laguna GT will go on sale thus spring. France will get the car first, starting from April 12 and the rest of Europe by the summer of 2008. The Laguna GT will be available in saloon and estate version and will come with a three-year or 150,000km warranty.

Under the hood, the new Renault Laguna GT will be offered with both petrol and diesel powerplants. The diesel version will be powered by a 2.0 dCi engine, producing 180hp (131kW) at 3,750rpm and peak torque of 400Nm from 2,000rpm. Powered by this engine, the Laguna accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds, has an estimated fuel consumption of just 6.5 litres/100km and 172 g/km CO2 emissions.

The petrol version is powered by a sport version of the 2.0 liter 16-valve engine, which produces 205hp (150kW) at 5,000rpm and peak torque of 300Nm from 3,000rpm. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) is made in 7.8 seconds, the estimated fuel consumption is 8.2 litres/100km and 194 g/km CO2 emissions.

Developed by Renault and Renault Sport Technologies, the Laguna GT uses the Active Drive chassis with four-wheel steering. The car is fitted with a sensor on the steering column that sends steering wheel angle information via the CAN network to the 4WD control unit, located behind the rear axle. The 4WD control unit also inputs vehicle speed from the ESP/ABS unit. This makes the car very easy to handle in town and agile on winding roads.

On the exterior, the new Renault Laguna GT looks very sporty, with the long plunging bonnet, new lateral air-intakes, aerodynamic sills, twin tailpipe, gloss black wing mirrors, smoked rear lamps and it rides on Celsium wheels equipped with 225/45 18-inch special Bridgestone Potenza tyres, a Formula One spin-off. On the inside, the Laguna GT is also very sporty, with the exclusive GT logo embossed on the light grey alcantara of the front seatbacks, special three-spoke leather sports steering wheel with grey stitching, cross-drilled aluminium pedal, sports gearshift lever knob, dark charcoal Riviera leather upholstery with reinforced lateral support.

Check out the press release, a video and a full gallery of the Renault Laguna GT after the jump.
Read More: "Renault Laguna GT goes on sale this spring"

McLaren F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, was caught speeding on a highway in France. The 22 year old British driver was caught doing 122 mph (196km/h), that’s 37 mph more than the legal speed limit in France, which is 80 mph (130km/h). Hamilton had his Mercedes town away, got a one month ban from France, plus he had to pay a 600 euro (£430) fine. However, the French policemen told the press that Lewis was “co-operative and courteous”.

Read More: "Lewis Hamilton caught speeding in France"