Laguna GT revives 4WS

Renault's next generation of Laguna will be available in a 'GT' level of trim, offering four-wheel steering and a choice of high-performance petrol or diesel engines.

The company's technology experts at RenaultSport have developed the Laguna GT, which will be available in liftback and wagon styles, with two different engine options: a turbo four-cylinder DOHC petrol engine or a turbodiesel four-cylinder.

Both engines displace 2.0 litres and drive through a six-speed manual transmission. The petrol engine develops 150kW of power and 300Nm of torque from 3000rpm. For the turbodiesel, the peak power figure is 131kW and maximum torque of 400Nm occurs from 2000rpm.

Probably the cherry on top is the four-wheel steering system, which operates on the rear wheels through an electric actuator and appears to owe more than a little to the HICAS system (High Capacity Active Steering) developed by Renault's subsidiary, Nissan, for the Skyline at the end of the 1980s.

Whether the Laguna GT makes it to Australia remains in doubt. The standard Aussie-spec cars are due here around the middle of this year and any decision by the importer to bring in the GT variants will depend on the local market taking to the lower-spec cars. So says Renault's Australian Marketing Communications Manager, Craig Smith.

"We're certainly looking at [the Laguna GT]. A lot of it will hinge around the acceptance of the new Laguna. If we find the acceptance is solid, it certainly increases the chances," he said.

"If we were to press the button, it would be sometime around the middle of next year.

"From a positive point of view, [the Laguna GT] shows the full capability of the chassis. The Laguna will be a flagship, globally and locally, for us. And [the GT] really takes the car to the next level again, with the enhanced power and the Active Drive suspension," he said.

But Renault is not anxious to bring in a car that may be overpriced, or otherwise split the Laguna client base, cutting into profitability for the product range.

"Historically -- one of the mistakes we've made in the past -- we've tried to bring in a myriad of models and haven't really had the commercial means to support all those models," says Smith.

"So the danger is having a car there and dropping it into the market, but not having the marketing funds to support it. Certainly, there are no product issues, but there's the commercial reality of the number of cars we sell here and our ability to support those.

"What we've been doing from a general model lineup point of view in the past two years is rationalising. We're trying to build our sales based on less models rather than having a myriad of models and not being able to support any of them properly.

"There'll be iterations of this [technology] moving forward. GT is usually not the top of the performance range. The GT badge, from a Renault point of view, is usually a link between the volume-selling cars and the top-end cars. So there'll be more technology coming through as we move forward. They [Lagunas] really are a technology platform.

In effect, Smith is saying that Renault in Australia would like to give the Laguna GT a good shake, but there has to be a business case for it and the company can't afford a shrapnel approach to marketing, with the GT being a splinter variant -- an orphan -- that the marque just can't afford to support.

But Renault may also leave the way open for future super-high-tech Laguna models to be introduced here, over and above the GT -- whether the GT comes here or not.

"[The Laguna GT has] been developed by RenaultSport and they have a history of [matching] their technology against various platforms, so you certainly wouldn't be surprised to see the same technology pop up in various platforms as new models are introduced," Smith said, alluding to the possibility that the 4WS system may find applications other than the Laguna.

The four-wheel steering concept that is central to the Laguna GT is one of those ideas that the Japanese promoted heavily during the 1980s and 90s, through such cars sold in Australia as the (Mazda) Eunos 800/Millenia, the HD generation 929 and the Honda Prelude. Yet the concept didn't seem to make an impact locally.

Despite the apathy, the concept itself was good, as anyone who has driven one of those cars can testify.

For the Laguna, the system turns the rear wheels in the opposite direction from the front wheels at speeds below 60km/h to reduce the turning circle or the number of turns lock-to-lock. In this low-speed mode, the rear wheels will prescribe a steering angle of up to 3.5 degrees.

At speeds above 60km/h, the rear wheels turn in harmony with the front, so the car crabs sideways when merging into another lane on a freeway, for example. The steering angle above 60km/h is limited to two degrees and the rear wheels thus maintain high-speed stability.

Renault has tuned the system to work in conjunction with the Laguna's stability control program, which is subject to a higher threshold of operation under 60km/h, lest the program interpret the car's tighter turning circle as a case of oversteer.

If you're interested in the Laguna GT, perhaps now would be a good time to lobby your local Renault dealer... and let us know too.

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