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Renault Twingo RS Not In the Cards

Believe it or not, the Renault 5 Alpine predates the first generation VW Golf GTI by two months. Thus, hatchbacks we often refer to as hot have been a specialty of Renault since 1976.
Renault Twingo GT 17 photos
Photo: Renault
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Despite the 40-year tradition of making small cars fast, the outgoing Twingo will not earn its RS badge. This information comes from Patrice Ratti, the head honcho of Renault Sport and the architect of all fast Renault models.

When Autocar asked him about the prospect of building a Twingo RS, the biggest fish at the sporting arm had this to comment: “almost impossible.”

By impossible, Ratti wants to tell us that a Twingo RS “would need around 150 bhp, which presents all sorts of challenges. There’s not much room for a four-cylinder engine — which would be the cheapest way to get 150 bhp.” Shoehorning a powerful three-banger turbo isn’t a solution either.

“To get a three-cylinder engine to 150 bhp would mean redesigning the engine, and at that point the project becomes very expensive — probably too much for an A-segment hot hatch.” Given these circumstances, I am truly saddened by the news before me. The grief is even greater for me because the previous generation of the Renault Twingo RS with its 133 PS freely-aspirated four-cylinder engine was an absolute hoot to drive.

Tuners have tried to squeeze more power from the 0.9-liter three-banger of the current-gen Twingo, yet they couldn’t do better than 111 PS, which is just 2 PS more than the 109 PS (107 bhp) packed by the Renault Twingo GT and smart forfour Brabus. Be that as it may, the Renault Sport boss is pretty happy with what his team had managed to do with the Twingo GT.

“With that power and the steering and suspension changes, it is really fun to drive, and we’ve been able to do all that without adding too much complication and therefore cost,” Ratti told the British publication. But at the end of the day, an RS is an RS and a GT is close, but not cigar.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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