Renault Asks for AI Help in Reinventing the Soon-to-Be-Sacked Twingo

Specifically, to celebrate three decades of the tiny city-dwelling traffic dancer – better known as the Twingo – the manufacturer opens its gates to AI-inspired stylists who want to leave their mark on a new car.

Renault launches a worldwide design contest with the sole purpose to “Reinvent Twingo” – and not even the sky is the limit here. The carmaker proposes several studies in which their big-hearted pocket-sized automobile is featured in every element, habitat, role, and taste available.

Imagination and a good set of AI tools – the company suggests Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Dall-E as starting points – are all that’s needed to participate in the global challenge. The chatbots need only a few words to generate images, and the customization options are virtually endless (PUN intended).

Renault already sent the Twingo back to the future with a poster showing a flying vehicle that also resembles a French bulldog at full speed, ears flopping around and all. Several more down-to-earth ideas are also pitched – how about a camper version of the Twingo?

And James Bond’s submarine Lotus Esprit served as an inspiration too – a balloon fish-shaped Twingo happily flops its snorkel just below the waterline of a tropical island. And, of course, no French concept is ever completed without a touch of haute cuisine. A Twingo life-sized chocolate bar might not seem that far-fetched, considering the mesmerizing craftsmanship of the finest chocolate artisans.

The participants are free to roam the realms of their AI image-generating superpowers from February 1 to March 31. To be considered, their Twingo-themed art should be posted on a social media platform of their own choice under the #ReinventTwingo hashtag.

Renault might be bidding farewell to the Twingo, but they’re not simply dropping the curtains on their thirty-year-old model. The French company will build a show car inspired by the design challenge – perhaps a final ovation before the dancer leaves the scene.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what’s the dancing reference about, it’s all hidden in the car’s name. Twingo is a portmanteau for Twist, Swing, and Tango – perhaps an ironic hint at the tiny automobile’s ability to ballet through traffic.

Nonetheless, the Twingo – having emerged into the world of the crank and internal combustion in 1993 – proposed the one-box architecture as a space-saving solution. The two-door hatchback was just four inches over eleven feet long (3.4 meters), with a 92-inch wheelbase (2.3 meters). Yet, it could accommodate four passengers (five, if they insisted).

This left little to no room for luggage, as the rear bench would slide back and forth for extra legroom, but the lawnmower-sized Twingo refused to go down in history as a failure. Despite having only one trim level and four colors, the Twingo caught on. Initially shaped like a minivan hatchling, the small Renault carried on for three generations and made its way into the electric era.

The first generation spanned 14 years, twice as many as the Mk II Twingo, which only lasted between 2007 and 2014. Also, from 2007 onwards, the Twingo lost its signature van-like profile (subsequent variants retorted to the traditional hatchback design), as well as the famous “smiley face” front end – a feature made possible by the rounded headlights and low air intake in the bumper.

In a twist of fate, the Twingo – that replaced the Renault 5 back in the 90s – is now ousted by the same nameplate, which the French company mothballed in 1996. The Renault 5 is making a comeback – with a vengeance, mind you – albeit in a pure lightning-fed shape. The carmaker did not say when the Twingo would come to pass, but it’s safe to assume it won’t be long before the model’s production is ceased.

So, if digital mastery is itching, command an AI chatbot to conceive a Twingo like no other before it and let it loose on the internet. Perhaps the final Renault curtain will show your idea of what Twingo wasn’t, but it might have.