Photo: Renault
Last week, we announced that Renault was beginning to take orders for the Twingo GT. And it seems the French automaker decided to cough up dozens of new photos to convince potential buyers of the Twingo's hotness.
We still believe that the Twingo GT is a step backward from the old Twingo RS, which was a lot of fun and packaged an awesome chassis. However, half a sports hatch is better than nothing.
First, let's get the specs out of the way. Unlike every Twingo before it, this generation has its engine under the trunk floor. The upside is the front wheels can turn further.
The downside is there's limited room for an engine, exhaust and the suspension under the trunk. So the 0.9-liter 3-banger shared with the Clio had to be tilted on its axis to fit. Renault says there wasn't room for anything bigger, so instead of upsizing like they did with the Megane GT hot hatch, they just re-tuned the existing mill.
The result is 110 PS and 170 Nm (125 lb-ft) of torque from one of the smallest engines offered by any European company. While that's mildly impressive, the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 9.6 seconds isn't. Just for the record, the old Twingo RS that went out of production in 2013 did it in 8.5 seconds.
Fuel economy has gone down from 6.5 l/100km to just 5 l/100km combined, but that's just on paper. The good news is that the Twingo GT is relatively cheap at €17,000 in France with a 5-speed manual, a couple of thousand less than the equivalent smart forfour Brabus model. But the Twingo 133 was cheaper still.
If does look good standing still, thanks to the double exhaust, lowered suspension and rear spoiler. But the question is: what's it like on the go?
The highlight of the Twingo GT, as the photo gallery shows, is the abundance of trim and equipment. As standard, you get 17-inch wheels, a multi-colored interior, the R-Link system, tinted glass and LED accents. The orange paint is another €500, but we think it's worth that.
First, let's get the specs out of the way. Unlike every Twingo before it, this generation has its engine under the trunk floor. The upside is the front wheels can turn further.
The downside is there's limited room for an engine, exhaust and the suspension under the trunk. So the 0.9-liter 3-banger shared with the Clio had to be tilted on its axis to fit. Renault says there wasn't room for anything bigger, so instead of upsizing like they did with the Megane GT hot hatch, they just re-tuned the existing mill.
The result is 110 PS and 170 Nm (125 lb-ft) of torque from one of the smallest engines offered by any European company. While that's mildly impressive, the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 9.6 seconds isn't. Just for the record, the old Twingo RS that went out of production in 2013 did it in 8.5 seconds.
Fuel economy has gone down from 6.5 l/100km to just 5 l/100km combined, but that's just on paper. The good news is that the Twingo GT is relatively cheap at €17,000 in France with a 5-speed manual, a couple of thousand less than the equivalent smart forfour Brabus model. But the Twingo 133 was cheaper still.
If does look good standing still, thanks to the double exhaust, lowered suspension and rear spoiler. But the question is: what's it like on the go?
The highlight of the Twingo GT, as the photo gallery shows, is the abundance of trim and equipment. As standard, you get 17-inch wheels, a multi-colored interior, the R-Link system, tinted glass and LED accents. The orange paint is another €500, but we think it's worth that.
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