TWINGO GT: Driving enjoyment with a dash of Renault Sport spice

MAKING full use of its rear-engine design, TWINGO GT has been honed for driving enjoyment.

Powered by a 110-horsepower TCe turbocharged engine which develops 170Nm of torque, TWINGO GT can now be specified with either a manual gearbox or dual-clutch EDC transmission.

To take advantage of this performance in complete safety, TWINGO GT features specific ESP calibration and variable ratio power steering.

Inspired by the Twin’Run concept car, TWINGO GT is easily recognisable thanks to its 17-inch wheels, lateral air intakes and twin exhaust tail pipes.

Precise, comfortable and fun to drive, it offers affordable pleasure behind the wheel, in keeping with the tradition of Renault Sport-designed GTs.

A GT… and a bit more besides

Over the last twenty years or so, Renault Sport has developed unique expertise in making sports cars. The various R.S. and GT versions of TWINGO, Clio and Mégane have all been front-wheel drive cars. With the third generation of TWINGO, the engineers were faced with a different challenge!

“It was a real challenge for Renault Sport to work on a rear-engined car since the handling of a rear-wheel drive car is very different to that to which we are accustomed. TWINGO GT is a balanced car that is fun to drive, especially when fitted with EDC dual-clutch transmission.” Patrice Ratti – Managing Director of Renault Sport Cars.

A breath of fresh air for the engine

Whilst sharing its structural design with some of Renault Sport’s most famous sports cars – like the R5 Turbo or the Clio V6 – TWINGO remains a small city car that has precise handling and is surprisingly roomy. Nestled between the rear wheels, and tilted at 49 degrees to increase its compactness, the three-cylinder engine takes up all of the available space.

For TWINGO GT, the Renault Sport engine designers therefore worked on optimising the most powerful base, i.e. the 898cc TCe engine.

One of TWINGO GT’s distinctive features is the air intake on the rear left-hand wing, which replaces the air intake that was originally located above the wheel arch. This modification is essential in improving engine performance, since it reduces the temperature of the air entering the turbocharger by some 12%. Combined with an upper section duct, this dynamic intake also helps increase the flow rate of combustive air by 23%.

In order to take advantage of this blast of fresh air, the turbocharger’s rotation speed has been increased. The petrol pump has been specifically-designed to increase the fuel flow rate accordingly and the same applies to the water pump, in order to improve cooling of the powertrain.

The exhaust system has also been specially-designed, with revised calibration of the air flow and back pressure, and is fitted with a twin-exhaust silencer.

With the modified engine mapping, the power has been extended to 110bhp, whilst peak torque stands at 170Nm.

Now available with EDC transmission

In response to demand expressed by TWINGO GT customers, who essentially use their car in built-up areas, the model can now be specified with either a manual gearbox or six-speed EDC transmission.

Other Renault Sport models equipped with EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch) transmission are New Clio R.S. and Mégane GT.

EDC can be used either as a fully automatic transmission or in sequential mode coupled with the gear shift lever. Dual clutch transmission ensures fast, seamless changes for a smooth, efficient driving style.

The selection of specific gear ratios for TWINGO GT contributes to the delivery of punchy performance.