Renault Twingo RenaultSport revs up Geneva

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Renault and Honda have something in common; the love of tiny high-revving motors. Twingo has now benefited from this love as can be seen at the Geneva Motor Show today. The guys at RenaultSport have decided that Megane and Clio cannot go alone on the fun drive and have to take Twingo along.

Based on the Twingo Concept of Paris 2006, the Twingo RS has a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine that revs quite high, making its peak power at 6,750rpm. How much? A lot by the engine’s size; 133 bhp/ 98kW as a matter of fact. Torque is 160Nm at 4,400rpm, also indicating the desire to be revved high in order to access any meaningful performance.

At the feet of Twingo RS are 195/45 R16 or 195/40 R17 tyres that compliment the car’s aerodynamic spoiler and shiny chromed tailpipe. The car has been stiffened up a little bit to show its sporting ambitions. A 5-speed manual gearbox was thought best for the task at hand, so they included one. Performance brakes and calipers complete the look downstairs.

A new colour to the RS range is Altica Grey which joins the existing colours of Pearlescent Black, Extrême Blue and Platine Grey, and something called Vif Red. Sounds like it should be on a neck scarf.

Market arrival of the Twingo RS is third quarter 2008 in Europe.

Press Release

To round off the Renault Sport range alongside Clio and Mégane Renault Sport, Renault has designed an affordable, high-performance hot hatch with bags of character. Twingo Renault Sport’s compact
proportions and sharp styling embody its fun-to-drive, sporty nature, and are reminiscent of the Twingo Concept show car. Additional cooling for the 133hp normally-aspirated 1.6 litre 16V engine is provided by
a wide Renault Sport air-intake grille in the front bumper. The sculpted side sills, coupled with wider front and rear wings, underline Twingo Renault Sport’s assertive character. At the rear, the chromed exhaust
tail pipe emerges through a two-tone bumper. The foglamp surrounds, wing mirror shrouds, 17-inch alloy wheels and aerodynamic spoiler all sport the same shade of dark metal grey. On request, Renault Sport
decals can be added to the flanks or rear bumper. Inspired by the chequered flag, these designs conjure up the dynamic world of motor sport.

Twingo Renault Sport is fitted with generously-proportioned tyres (195/45 R16 or 195/40 R17) mounted on aluminium alloy wheels. They house substantial brake discs and callipers which provide powerful, durable braking performance. Twingo Renault Sport also introduces a new colour to the Renault Sport range, with the new Altica Grey once again echoing Twingo Concept. Three other metallic shades are available (Pearlescent Black; Extrême Blue and Platine Grey) in addition to Vif Red.

Sports styling inside

The ergonomic driving position conjures the world of racing with features that are centred firmly on the driver: aluminium pedals, and a four-spoke perforated leather steering wheel with dark charcoal stitching and a stitched red marker at the straight ahead point. Not only does this design offer increased comfort, it allows the driver a perfect grip in the ‘ten-to-two’ position. The rev-counter is located directly behind the steeringwheel, echoing racing car design. Employing a specific typeface, the numbers grow in size as the needle approaches the red line at 7,000rpm. Just like in the cockpit of the ING Renault F1 Team’s R28 Formula 1 car, the rev-counter features a gear change alert to warn the driver as the engine approaches maximum revs. The dark charcoal interior trim neatly expresses sporting performance. Offering additional lateral support and with excellent levels of comfort, the specific Renault Sport seats allow the driver to feel at one with the car. The colour of the Blood Orange safety belts matches the contrasting stitching on the upholstery.
As with all cars developed by Renault Sport Technologies, the Renault Sport logo can be found inside the cabin, on the rev-counter, the door sills and the front seats. Outside, the badge features on the rear hatch
and engine air filter.

Combining sports performance with everyday use

With Twingo Renault Sport, the experts at Renault Sport Technologies have conquered two challenges with one car: combining true sports performance with day-to-day driveability. This little high-performance car offers genuine driving enjoyment in total safety. The responsive, balanced chassis uses the excellent Twingo platform, and has been tuned to offer precise, consistent sports handling. ESP is fitted as standard to allow the driver to retain control in slippery conditions. However, the system can be manually deactivated and, combined with the absence of emergency braking assist, this reinforces the car’s sporty character. The assistance of the electric power steering has been tuned to offer sharp, precise response to the driver’s instructions at the wheel. Twingo Renault Sport guarantees powerful, durable braking thanks to ventilated discs and bearings inherited from Mégane II, while the callipers are inherited from the New Laguna.

A composed, balanced platform

Just like all other models in the Renault Sport range, the newcomer offers two chassis options: sports and Cup. On both, track has been widened by 60 mm at the front and 59 mm at the rear compared to Twingo
GT. These modifications improve stability and lateral grip. The front suspension is a pseudo-MacPherson type arrangement, with aluminium lower arms. The adoption of pushrods on the dampers improves the performance of the anti-roll bar for even better body control. Twingo Renault Sport's suspension is based on an H-type programmed deflection rear beam. To improve ride and comfort, the dampers are mounted vertically and coupled with variable rate coil springs. The 24mm diameter rear anti-roll bar (compared to 22.5mm on Twingo GT) brings a stiffness gain of 25%. The anti-roll performance has been calibrated to improve rear-end agility. The set-up of the sport chassis was honed for the best and safest balance between driving enjoyment and performance. Compared to Twingo GT, the chassis features a lower centre of gravity, thanks to a 10mm lower ride height. Stiffer springs (+30% compared to Twingo GT) and uprated dampers (also +30%) add to the car’s sporty handling, while firmer bushing has enhanced suspension performance front and rear. The Twingo Renault Sport sport chassis is also fitted with generously-proportioned tyres (195/45 R16).

Source: Renault