Renault unveils faster Twingo GT
French city-car gains fractionally more power and Renaultsport-tuned chassis, but remains a warm hatch not a hot hatchRenault has revealed a more powerful version of its rear-engined, rear-wheel drive city-car.
Called the Twingo GT, the small five-door hatch comes with a more powerful version of the standard car's 0.9-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.
Instead of 66kW/135Nm, the GT gets 81kW/170Nm. Renault has yet to claim performance figures for the fastest Twingo but, with a kerb weight of around 940kg, the GT should be able to dip below eight-second barrier for the 0-100km/h sprint.
Along with larger 17-inch alloys, twin exhaust pipes and a lower ride height, to cope with the extra power the French car-maker has drafted in its high-performance division Renaultsport.
That's why, says Renault, there's completely revised suspension, specific ESC calibration and a new variable-rate steering rack.
To boost in-gear performance, engineers have also fitted the Twingo GT manual gearbox with shorter ratios.
Sadly, if you're in the market for a reasonably quick, tiny car like the Twingo GT you'll be in for a long wait.
Renault Australia has already tried and failed to make a business case for the small hatch here and its relatively high price compared to cars like the Mitsubishi Mirage means that's unlikely to change in the near future.
Renault is expected to release performance figures and pricing at the Twingo GT's first public outing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 23.
The Twingo GT goes on sale in Europe in late 2016.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
