The Closest Near-Crash Ever: Renault Clio RS at the Nurburgring
12 May 2014, 10:10 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / The Clio RS has always been considered to be the best way in which to go fast cheaply. From its first incarnations, the 2-liter lump under the bonnet and suspension created by motorsport gurus in Fr...
New SEAT Leon Cupra Wrapped in Matte Neon Yellow and Orange
9 May 2014, 08:55 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / Currently the fastest FWD production car ever to go round the Nurburgring, the new SEAT Leon Cupra is perhaps the coolest car ever to be made by the Spanish. With LED headlights and a 2-liter turbo ...
Ford Could Bring Back the Focus RS By 2016
6 May 2014, 11:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / There's nothing in the world of hot hatchbacks quite like the manic yet focused Focus RS (pun intended). For almost four years now, the Blue Oval stopped offering the RS-badged model, to much b...
Golf 7 R Onboard POV Autobahn Test
5 May 2014, 11:38 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / The Schoner Golf of the moment is of course the new R, based on the seventh generation compact car platform. It's the sort of hot hatch that can do seemingly everything and has armies of fans d...
Rumor: Hot Megane Is Called RS275R, Targets 7:45 Ring Lap Time
4 May 2014, 11:08 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / #under8 is definitely the buzz hashtag with French car enthusiasts across the internet right now, after Renault announced it was aggressively targeting a new lap record for front-wheel drive product...
Manual Renault Megane RS Going the Way of the Dodo?
2 May 2014, 11:42 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / It seem a little bit of a canundrum is going on in the hot hatch world right now. While the Polo GTI has been criticized for not being engaging enough due to the DSG gearbox, Renault's Megane R...
Peugeot 308 Will Take 1.6L Turbo Hot Hatches to the Next Level
1 May 2014, 15:38 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / Years passed without anybody ever lavishing Peugeot's hot cars with any attention. But all that changed last year when the 208 GTi came out and started picking fights with the Clio RS. For some...
Manual Transmission Will Make the 2015 Polo GTI a Cheaper Driver's Car
30 Apr 2014, 17:24 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / The market for city pocket rockets is defined by price, as young buyers often use up every resource available to finance their hot hatch dreams. The DSG gearbox fitted to all Polo GTI can thugs be ...
2 Guys 1 Car: Making Fun of Hot Hatch Drivers
26 Apr 2014, 14:33 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / The guys at CarThrottle are pretty much experts in causing a car-related giggle and this latest episode of 2 guys 1 car happens to be quite good. It’s about that guy we all know who has sa...
Spyshots: All-New Audi RS3 Rumored to Have a 2.0 TFSI with 400 HP
25 Apr 2014, 08:10 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / There's no question that Audi builds a much faster, more relevant hot hatch in the shape the new 300 horsepower S3. Not only is it available in four body styles for the first time ever, but its...
Ford Fiesta ST-3: Meet the New Boss, Same As the Old Boss
23 Apr 2014, 08:23 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The quirky Fiesta ST just got a new range-topping version, which costs a hefty £19,250 ($32,364 or €23,424 at current rates) in the United Kingdom. Regrettably for the hot hatch enthus...
Volkswagen Golf R 400 Beijing Concept Heading for Production
22 Apr 2014, 11:18 UTC · By: Andrei Tutu / Volkswagen seems like it is not going to let Audi’s 2015 RS3 fight the Mercedes A45 AMG and BMW M135i on its own, with the carmaker introducing a 400 PS (395 hp) Golf R concept at the 2014 Bei...
2014 MINI Cooper S Tested
18 Apr 2014, 16:23 UTC · By: Andrei Tutu / Put aside many of the things you knew about the MINI. They’ve just reinvented their core model, the Hardtop (or Hatchback in Europe) and it all feels like it’s a BMW MINIon. That&rsq...
Spyshots: 2015 Audi RS3 Sportback First Photos
14 Apr 2014, 11:35 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / Tired of seeing Mercedes and BMW creeping in on its territory, Audi is getting ready to launch the RS version of its third generation compact hatch, soon to be its fastest hot hatch ever. We have th...
280 HP Skoda Fabia RS Diesel Paints the Road Black During Race
14 Apr 2014, 08:53 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / Skoda has all but decided it wants to give up on the Fabia RS hot hatch due to lack of sales. We think that's a real shame, since the Czech car has always been an oddball, a misfit that likes t...
2015 Honda Fit / Jazz Type R Rendered
11 Apr 2014, 13:00 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / Honda won't rest until the new Civic Type R is the fastest FWD car ever to lap the Nurburgring. That means taking on the might of SEAT, Renault and other automakers who covet the hot hatch titl...
2014 Renault Megane RS Going After the SEAT Leon Cupra's Hot Lap
7 Apr 2014, 17:44 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / As of last month, The 2014 SEAT Leon Cupra is the fastest front-wheel drive performance hatchback to have ever lapped the Nurburgring in a stock configuration. Its 280 horsepower couple to a limited...
New Focus RS Delayed, Next-Gen Mondeo to Arrive Later This Year
7 Apr 2014, 12:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Although Ford initially promised it would launch the new Focus RS in 2015, the brand's European president Stephen Odell recently told Autocar: "There's nothing to talk about. It&rsquo...
Abarth 500 to Get Automatic in North America
7 Apr 2014, 08:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Fiat's expansion across the Atlantic continues with the Italian automaker promising to add a new transmission option on top-spec 500 models. The six-speed Aisin automatic will be available star...
Subaru WRX Sport Hatch Being Considered Due to US Demand
5 Apr 2014, 09:58 UTC · By: Mihnea Radu / If anybody teared away when Subaru brought out the 2015 WRX as a sedan and said they’re not going to make a hatch any more, you guys should know you’re not alone. There’s just some...