Hot hatch twang so wrong for Twingo
Renault Sport spell fails to work on GT
Take the bijou and extremely manoeuvrable Renault Twingo, hand it to those fine petrolheads at Renault Sport for them to wave their spanners over – and the result: a pocket hot hatch that will provide cheap and practical fun.
With very few exceptions, the current Clio being one of them, the Renault Sport engineers have produced a succession of stunning and affordable hot hatches over the last few decades.
From the original Clio Williams to the super Megane 275 Trophy.
Sadly, this Twingo GT is not one of their success stories. That said, I don’t think the engineers are to blame: it’s the layout of the rearengined little Renault that is the problem.
First, there’s the Twingo GT’s engine. It’s a warmed-up version of the most powerful standard Twingo’s three-cylinder 898cc turbocharged motor.
The engineers have fitted a new turbocharger, revised intake and a new exhaust system plus revised software. The result is a modest increase of 20bhp to bring the total to 110bhp.
There isn’t enough room in the car’s engine bay to fit a larger unit, and if the engineers had got carried away with fitting an even larger turbocharger and intercooler to produce a lot more power there would have been a space issue when it came to radiators to keep the engine cool.
They could have given the car extended rear wings to create extra space, and then have widened the rear track, but this would have cost a packet and turned the Twingo into an expensive hot rod. A bit like the amazing Renault 5 Turbo 2 from the 1980s, which was a 5 with a turbocharged engine mounted in the back.
But the problem with the Twingo GT isn’t just a lack of power – it’s more that the whole car doesn’t suit the performance treatment. It’s an excellent city car