Renault MX-5 rival

	The Renault chief confirmed that the eagerly awaited newcomer would be in dealers by 2010, and added:

Renault is keen to milk its recent success in Formula One by exposing its racing name to a greater audience. And it believes that offering a Renaultsport-badged Mazda MX-5-style two-seater roadster is the way to achieve this.

Alain Dassas, head of the company's high-performance division, told us: "We will introduce a small sports car and use our grand prix image to sell it. F1 has a high level of safety and reliability. We want to produce a road model with the same qualities as our racing machines."

The Renault chief confirmed that the eagerly awaited newcomer would be in dealers by 2010, and added: "It must be both accessible and affordable. We want to reinforce our F1 success with as many people as possible."

Fans of the Renaultsport brand have already seen links with the GP outfit on road cars in the shape of the special-edition Mégane 225 F1 Team, launched earlier this year. Now, the company has unveiled a new model: the 230bhp Még­ane Renaultsport F1 Team R26. It wears the squad's GP logo - decals that Dassas revealed will be used across the range - and is priced at £19,570.

The roadster is likely to be more user-friendly than the maker's previous two-seater, the Sport Spider. Built from 1996 to 1999, this car was never a hit - partly because it had no roof and the windscreen was an optional extra.