There’s a new Renaultsport Twingo on the way, and its rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive layout hints at the legendary eighties Renault 5 Turbo.
Renault hasn’t even revealed the conventional Twingo yet, but we’ve used insider information and styling details from the Twin-Z and Twin’Run to bring you these images of how the mad new model could look.
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It’s set to be the flagship development of project Edison – that’s the codename given to the new Twingo and smart ForFour twins, which are being developed by Renault as part of an alliance forged between the two brands.
The conventional Twingo is likely to debut at the Geneva motor show next March, and go on sale here in the second half of next year. The Renaultsport model will probably appear early in 2015.
While it won’t get the bonkers 3.5-litre V6 used in the Twin’Run, the sporty new Twingo is likely to feature Renault’s 900c three-cylinder turbo, mounted under the boot floor. In conventional Twingos this engine will produce 89bhp, but Renaultsport will develop it to around 160bhp, bringing the newcomer in line with the old 5 Turbo.
Combine this power with a kerbweight of around 950kg, a short wheelbase and broad track, and the Twingo RS could be a highly entertaining automobile to drive – and a bit of handful. as with all hot Renaults, it would be engineered by specialists at the RS factory in Dieppe, where the new Alpine and Caterham sports cars will be built, and where the original 5 Turbo was made.