There was a short period in the 1960s when Willys-Overland, in addition to building Jeeps, constructed a race car based on the Renault Alpine 108. The Interlagos, so named for the famous race track in San Paolo, had only a small production run of less than a 1,000. Nevertheless, the light-weight car made an impression on the Brazilian market. Though we don't have a new Alpine from Renault, two Brazilian designers have already started dreaming about the next generation Interlagos and have turned those dreams into drawings of a two-seater, mid-engined roadster and coupe.
The plan is to use the same 148-horsepower 2.0-liter engine that powers the Megane and tie it to a six-speed manual gearbox. While this isn't an incredible amount of power for a small roadster, the car is expected to weigh less than 2,200 pounds. If the designers can get the proper funding together the plan is to make the car in Brazil and possibly export it to other countries.
While investing in start-up sports car companies is always a questionable activity, we should mention that Ford, Fiat and other companies see Brazil as an important market and are doing their best to get new product there. [WideID via World Car Fans]